


I Don't Want to Love Somebody Else

by dievampiredie



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Asexual Character, Frottage, Grief/Mourning, Hand Jobs, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Character Death, Oral Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-05
Updated: 2015-02-24
Packaged: 2018-02-24 03:01:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 23,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2565917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dievampiredie/pseuds/dievampiredie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kurt thought he'd met his soulmate at seventeen. His world is turned upside down when he wakes up on his eighteenth birthday and discovers a stranger's name on his arm.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story was initially written for the Kurt Big Bang, but, due to some unfortunately timed circumstances, I was unable to finish before my posting date. Thanks to the amazing (and incredibly patient) batkonehat and abjess there will be some lovely art accompanying a few chapters. Thank you so much to Nomi (gnomerino), my phenomenal beta, for fixing all my glaring grammatical errors and being my sounding board and cheerleader through this whole process, and to krumcake, whose Tumblr post about soulmate AUs inspired this story.
> 
>  **WARNING:** This fic deals with Finn’s death and Kurt and Rachel’s grief, contains spoilers for the musical Bare, and contains a scene in which an asexual-identified character has sex.

**November 2011**

Kurt blindly slapped at the snooze button on his alarm clock, wanting nothing more than to roll over and go back to sleep. He'd been restless for hours last night, and he felt like he'd barely slept at all.

Suddenly his eyes shot open. It was his birthday. His _eighteenth_ birthday. Smiling softly to himself, he sat up and pulled back the sleeve of his pajama top so he could see his wrist.

_Elliott Gilbert_

No. Tears welled in his eyes, and he wiped them away so he could get a closer look. The name was clear, but it was wrong. There had to be some mistake. Who the hell was Elliott Gilbert? Kurt had met his soulmate already, nearly a year ago, and his name was Blaine Anderson.

Blaine was the love of his life. Their soulmarks were only meant to be confirmation of that. It didn't make any sense that he had someone else's name. Kurt felt like he was going to be sick.

He sank back against his pillows, taking deep breaths and trying to keep himself calm. He loved Blaine, had loved him since the first day they’d met, and Blaine loved him too. They were perfect together. They had already planned to move to New York together after graduation, to get married some day and have a family and grow old together. And he was supposed to believe that, because of this one stupid mark on his body, he wasn’t allowed to have that now?

A sharp knock on his door startled him out of his thoughts. “Kurt? You awake?” His dad stepped into his room and smiled. “Hey, buddy. Happy birthday.”

The dam broke. A sob tore from Kurt’s throat, and he turned away, burying his face in his pillow as the tears spilled from his eyes and his body shook.

Kurt felt the bed shift as his dad sat down next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “What’s goin’ on?”

Instead of responding, Kurt held out his right arm.

“Oh, Kurt.” Burt’s fingers curled around his, and Kurt rolled over to face him. “I’m sorry, kid.”

Kurt wiped his eyes, though tears were still streaming down his face. “It was supposed to be Blaine. Dad, why don’t I have his name? I  _love_ him! I don’t want to be with some stranger; I want to be with _him_.”

Burt shrugged and sighed heavily. “I dunno. Nobody really knows how this soulmark thing works, and I know how much you love Blaine. Hell, anybody who’s ever been within a hundred feet of the two of you knows.” He looked down at the name again. “But maybe this Elliott will turn out to be somebody special too, someday.”

Kurt shook his head. “I don’t want him, Dad. Blaine is my somebody special.”

“I know, and you have every right to stay with Blaine if that’s what you want. It won’t be easy, and there’s a lot of people that’ll try to tell you it’s wrong, but if that’s your choice then I’ll support you, okay?”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“Why don’t you give Blaine a call, huh?” Burt pushed Kurt’s hair back and kissed his forehead. “Love you, bud. Happy birthday.”

Burt left, and Kurt reached over to grab his phone from his bedside table. He looked at the picture that he’d set as his background, a shot of him and Blaine that Rachel had taken over the summer. It was near sunset, and the two of them were sitting together on a picnic blanket, Blaine between Kurt’s legs, their hands tangled together on Blaine’s stomach. Blaine’s head was tipped back, his eyes were closed, and he had the sweetest smile on his face as Kurt pressed a kiss to his temple. They looked completely content.

Kurt dialed Blaine’s number, and it only rang twice before he picked up.

“Good morning, birthday boy!” Blaine sounded so happy. Kurt could practically hear his grin.

“Morning.” Kurt cringed at how raw his voice sounded. He sniffed and cleared his throat. “Blaine, can you come over? Please?”

“Of course. Kurt, is everything okay? You sound like you’ve been crying.”

Shit. Kurt really didn’t want to do this over the phone. “Just come over as soon as you can, okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll leave right now. I was just about ready to head out anyway.”

“See you soon.”

“Love you.”

“I love you too, B.”

Kurt flopped back down into his pillows. He didn’t want to get out of bed. Maybe if he went back to sleep he’d wake up to discover this was all just some terrible dream.

Fifteen minutes later, there was a soft knock before the door opened and Blaine walked in. Kurt sat up and tried to smile at him, but he couldn't hold back his tears.

Blaine rushed over to the bed and wrapped Kurt in his arms. "Shh, sweetheart, it's okay. I'm here," he soothed, stroking Kurt’s hair as his body trembled and he sobbed harder.

Kurt clutched at Blaine, trying to get himself under control and failing miserably. Blaine kissed Kurt’s hair, his forehead, his nose, wiped the tears from his cheeks with his thumbs and kissed his eyelids before pressing their foreheads together and taking a deep breath.

"I'm guessing I already know what this is about, but do you want to tell me anyway?" he asked.

Kurt shifted to lay back down and pulled Blaine down to face him, tangling their legs and resting his head on Blaine's shoulder. "I got my soulmark," he said quietly.

Blaine nodded and reached down to intertwine their fingers, his thumb stroking gently over Kurt's.

Kurt let out a hiccupping sob and looked up to meet Blaine's eyes. "It's not you, Blaine." He lifted up his arm from where it rested between them on the bed and showed Blaine his wrist.

Blaine let go of the hand he was holding so he could bring the marked wrist closer. "Elliott Gilbert, huh? He must be pretty special."

"He's not you," Kurt said.

Blaine ran his thumb over the name and brought Kurt's wrist down to lay a kiss over it. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Blaine sighed. "So what happens now?"

"I don’t know. I just don’t want to lose you."

“You won’t, honey.” Blaine stroked Kurt’s cheek and drew him into a soft kiss. "Do you have anything important going on in any of your classes today?"

Kurt shook his head. "Even if I did I don't think I'd be able to focus at this point."

"Okay, then why don't you get up, shower, and get dressed, and we'll go spend the day together. We can talk about this or we can just be together, whatever you want, but it's your birthday and I want to see you smile today."

“Okay.” Kurt gave him the best smile he could manage. "I'll have to check with my dad, but I think he'll be okay with it."

"I'll go talk to him. You go shower. Take your time; we’re not in any hurry today." Blaine kissed him one more time before standing up and walking out the door.

Kurt stood up on shaky legs and walked over to his bathroom. He undressed and turned the shower on, doing his best to avoid looking at his wrist. The warm water from the shower eased the headache and the stuffy nose he had from spending the morning crying. He washed his hair and scrubbed his face and body on autopilot. Finally, he looked down at his wrist, desperately wishing that he could scrub away Elliott Gilbert's name. It felt so out of place when he knew that his body, his heart, his _everything_ belonged to Blaine.

When Kurt walked back into his room, Blaine was sitting cross-legged on his bed waiting for him.

“Your dad is fine with us skipping school today,” Blaine said. “We have to be back for dinner, though, because Carole’s making something special. They both just left for work, and Finn left for school already. He and Carole both said to tell you happy birthday.”

Without a word, Kurt crawled up the bed and straddled Blaine’s lap, leaning down to press their lips together as Blaine’s arms wrapped around his back. He quickly loosened Blaine’s bowtie and started unbuttoning his shirt, needing to see and touch more of him. While Kurt’s lips drifted down Blaine’s neck, Blaine untied Kurt’s bathrobe and pushed it off his shoulders. Kurt’s shaky hands were fed up with buttons, so he untucked Blaine’s shirt and pulled it off over his head, carelessly tossing it to the floor. He felt frantic, mapping Blaine’s shoulders and chest and belly with his hands and his lips, needing to feel all of him at once.

“Baby, sit up a little,” Blaine said between frenzied kisses.

Kurt lifted himself off of Blaine’s lap, and Blaine quickly shimmied out of his pants and underwear, leaving them both gloriously naked as Kurt settled back down and pressed Blaine back into the pillows.

“Want you to mark me,” Kurt panted against Blaine’s neck as he ground their hips together. “Make me yours, B.”

Blaine latched onto Kurt’s shoulder, sucking and biting, and held his hips hard enough to cover them in little fingertip-shaped bruises. He pulled Kurt down hard against him, bucking his hips up over and over, both of them reveling in the friction between their bodies. Eventually, it wasn’t quite enough, and Kurt reached down to wrap a hand around both of them as Blaine continued his assault on Kurt’s neck and collar bones. It wasn’t long before they were both close, Kurt biting down hard on Blaine’s shoulder as he came. Blaine quickly followed him over the edge, covering both of their stomachs in a sticky mess as Kurt collapsed on top of him.

After they’d calmed down a bit, Kurt rolled off of Blaine and grabbed a handful of tissues from his nightstand to clean them up. Then he curled up against Blaine’s side, both of them quietly running gentle fingers over each other’s skin.

“I don’t want to break up,” Kurt whispered a short while later.

Blaine nodded. “Okay.”

“It could be years before I meet this guy, and I might not even want him then. I don’t want to lose you because of some stranger.”

“So we’ll stay together,” Blaine said.

“Yes,” Kurt agreed. “For as long as we both want to. And when you get your mark in April, we can re-evaluate if we need to.”

“There’s still a chance I could have your name.”

“Yeah,” Kurt murmured wistfully. “That’d be nice.”

Blaine nuzzled their noses together. “It would be, but even if I don’t, we still won’t have to break up, right?”

“Right.” Kurt kissed him softly. “I’m with you as long as you’ll have me, B.”

“Forever?” Blaine asked, his expression earnest.

Kurt kissed him again, a little longer this time, then snuggled close to his side. “I hope so.” **  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**January 2012**

"Okay, ladies, we've narrowed it down to _Twilight_ , _The Bodyguard_ , _The Way We Were_ , and _Rent._ Kurt laid the four DVD cases in a row on Rachel’s bed. “Final votes? I'm going with _Rent._

"Works for me," Rachel said.

"Me too," Mercedes agreed.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "If you were both going to agree with me in the end, why did we have to go through a twelve step process to get there?"

The girls shrugged.

"Just start the movie and get your butt over here, boy."

Kurt put the DVD in and climbed onto the bed next to Mercedes. "I don't know why we even bother with movies during sleepovers. We're just going to end up talking through the whole thing."

"Because it gives us a chance to pause for sing-alongs!" Rachel bounced and clapped her hands as the opening chords of "Seasons of Love" filled the room.

_Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes_

_Five hundred twenty five thousand moments so dear_

_Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes_

_How do you measure, measure a year?_

They all sang along, doing their best diva impressions as they sang the solos and harmonizing together through the chorus, finally settling down against Rachel's headboard after the song ended.

Kurt reached across Mercedes to grab a handful of popcorn from the bowl in Rachel's lap and felt a hand wrap around his wrist.

Kurt frowned. "Rachel, I brought the snacks for everyone to share. Do we need to get separate bowls and divide them up?"

Rachel didn’t respond. Instead, she tugged on his arm and turned his wrist over before he had time to pull it away. Her eyes went wide. "Kurt..."

"What?" he snapped, yanking his arm back.

"Kurt, that's not Blaine's name."

"Really, Rachel? I hadn't noticed."

Mercedes took his hand and pushed his sleeve up past his wrist. "Who’s Elliott Gilbert?"

"I have no idea,” Kurt muttered. “And, quite frankly, I don't care."

"But he's your _soulmate_." Mercedes was adamant. She was one of those people who believed that soulmarks were sacred, and she was saving herself for her soulmate.

Kurt shook his head. "No, he's not."

"What do you mean? His name is on your wrist!"

"That doesn't make him my soulmate," Kurt insisted.

"What does that make him, then?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know, nor, as I've already said, do I care. I love Blaine, and I'm staying with Blaine."

Mercedes gasped. “Kurt, that’s illegal.”

"No, it's not,” Kurt scoffed. “Frowned upon, yes. Dangerous if the wrong people find out, maybe. But choosing to be in an unmatched relationship is not _illegal_."

"You're cheating on your soulmate!" Rachel shouted.

"That's preposterous!” Kurt yelled back. “How can I cheat on someone I've never even met?"

Rachel gave him a long, searching look. "What are you going to do after you meet him? And what about Blaine's soulmate?"

"Blaine doesn't have his mark yet,” Kurt reminded them. “And what if he ends up with my name? What if my mark was just a fluke?"

“Kurt,” Mercedes said, reaching out to run her hand down his arm. "You know how unlikely that is.”

"But it’s happened before. It’s not impossible. And I don't know what's going to happen after I meet Elliott, okay? All I know is that I love Blaine, and I want to spend my life with Blaine, and it's completely unfair that some stupid little mark on my arm is supposed to tell me that I can't have what I want." Angry tears were streaming down Kurt’s face. These were his _girls_. If they didn’t accept him, no one would.

Kurt looked into Rachel’s eyes. “Do you have any idea how lucky you are?” he asked. “You and Finn found each other when you were sixteen, and you’re crazy about each other, and you’re matched. You can legally marry the person you love. You don’t have your _best friends_ telling you that your relationship is wrong. I would give _anything_ to be matched with Blaine, but I’m not going to give up the person I love just because I don’t have his name on my wrist.”

“I’m so sorry, Kurt,” Rachel said, her eyes filled with tears. She reached over and took his hand.

Mercedes covered their joined hands with hers. “I’m sorry, too. I may not understand your decision, but I know how much you love Blaine. Who am I to say that being with the person you love is wrong?”

Kurt gave them a watery smile. “Thanks. Can we just watch the movie now? I’d like to focus on somebody else’s problems.”

They all turned their attention to the screen, where Angel was dancing around Mark and Roger’s living room in a Santa suit and drumming on the pipes. Rachel passed Kurt the popcorn bowl. “I think you’d make an excellent Angel, Kurt.”

“In those heels?” He laughed. “I’d spend half the show falling on my ass!” **  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**April 2012**

As the early morning light filtered through the curtains, Kurt pulled Blaine closer and tucked his face into the curve of his shoulder. He wasn’t ready to wake up and face the day yet. Blaine was sleep-warm and relaxed in his arms, and the last thing Kurt wanted to do was disturb this moment.

They'd kissed and touched late into the night, whispering promises into each other's skin until their voices faded into the gentle rhythms of sleep. The sun was rising on Blaine's eighteenth birthday, the day they'd been been looking forward to with a combination of breathless anticipation and gut-wrenching dread for months. It was the day that would officially seal their fate. Blaine's mark would be the final confirmation, for better or worse, of what their future together would look like.

Blaine began to stir and Kurt kissed his shoulder. Without a word, Blaine turned in his arms and sealed their lips together, pressing Kurt back into the mattress and crawling on top of him. He threaded their fingers together as he kissed down Kurt's jaw and neck, teasing his teeth across a mark he'd left the night before. Kurt moaned and arched into him, rutting their cocks together.

"Mmm, happy birthday to me," Blaine said with a cheeky grin as he circled his hips against Kurt's.

Kurt pulled him down into a deep, hungry kiss and flipped Blaine onto his back. He trailed his lips down Blaine's neck and chest, leaving a few kisses on his belly before settling between his legs and taking his cock between his lips. He gave the head a few teasing licks before sinking down, bobbing and sucking and slurping as Blaine moaned above him. It didn't take long before Blaine was tensing up and spilling deep into Kurt's throat.

Kurt sat up, grinning as Blaine grabbed him and kissed him, licking into his mouth and tasting himself on Kurt's tongue. He felt Blaine's hand wrap around him and bucked into the touch. Blaine stroked him slowly at first, then pulled Kurt fully into his lap and tightened his grip, quickening his pace and driving Kurt straight to the edge, until he came all over Blaine's hand and stomach.

They flopped back against the bed, and Blaine grabbed a wipe from the drawer in his bedside table to clean them off. Kurt draped an arm across Blaine’s stomach and nuzzled his nose against his shoulder. “Happy birthday, B.”

Blaine turned his head to kiss Kurt’s forehead. “Thanks,” he murmured. He brought his hand up to run his fingers through Kurt’s hair and stroked down his cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Kurt reached up and pulled Blaine’s hand away from his face, holding it out so they could both see his wrist.

_Daniel Evenston_

Blaine sighed, and Kurt laced their fingers together and pulled their hands back down to rest over his heart. “It doesn’t matter. We knew this would probably happen, and it doesn’t change anything, okay?”

“Okay.” Blaine nodded and tipped his head down to give Kurt a soft kiss. They both had tears in their eyes.

Kurt pulled back and looked into Blaine’s eyes. “I mean it, Blaine. As long as you want me, I’m not going anywhere. None of our plans have to change. This is just a speed bump, not the end of the road.”

“What about Elliott?” Blaine asked.

Kurt gave him a small smile. “Elliott who?” **  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter's a short one, but I promise the next one makes up for it!


	4. Chapter 4

**July 2012**

As Kurt watched his brother frantically pacing back and forth across the tiny room, he realized it might not be such a bad thing that he couldn't marry Blaine.

"Finn, will you sit down, please?” Kurt huffed. “You're going to sweat through your tux."

Finn plopped down into the chair next to him. "I'm freaking out, man. I mean, I know we're soulmates and everything, but what if we're making some huge mistake? What if we're too young? We should've waited. I should've let Rachel go to New York and I could've gone to school here and then we could've gotten married after we were done with college, and-"

"Finn!"

"Sorry."

Kurt put his hand on his brother’s shoulder. "You love Rachel, right?"

"Of course I do."

"And she's crazy about you. Like, _crazy_ crazy."

Finn laughed, then attempted to look affronted at the fact that Kurt had just called his soon-to-be-wife crazy.

"How could this possibly be a mistake?” Kurt asked. “You both know you're going to spend the rest of your lives together. You're matched. Why would you wait?"

Finn sighed. "I guess I'm just worried that I'm holding her back. She should be going to New York with you and Blaine, not stuck here in Ohio for another four years."

"Finn Hudson, do you honestly think that you could hold Rachel Berry back from anything?” Kurt arched a skeptical eyebrow at him, and Finn shook his head.

“She's staying because she wants to,” Kurt reassured him. “She wants to be with you, Finn. New York will still be there in four years, and Ohio State has amazing music and theatre programs."

There was a knock on the door, and their parents stepped into the room. Carole’s eyes were already teary.

“My boys,” she said, looking at the three of them in their tuxes. “You all look so handsome.”

Kurt moved toward the door and stopped to kiss her cheek. “You look beautiful. I’m going to go find Blaine. You guys are in charge of making sure Finn doesn’t turn into a runaway groom.”

Kurt wandered down the hall, poking his head around corners and into Sunday school classrooms, wondering where Blaine had disappeared to. He found him sitting on a low table in what appeared to be the church nursery, staring blankly at the row of cribs along the opposite wall.

“Hey, you,” Kurt said quietly.

Blaine looked up and gave him a small smile. “Hey.”

“What are you doing in here all by yourself?” Kurt asked as he settled down on the table next to him. He reached over and threaded their fingers together, pulling Blaine’s hand up to his lips to kiss his knuckles.

Blaine leaned over to rest his head on Kurt’s shoulder and sighed. “Honestly? I was feeling resentful and needed a few minutes away from all the happy wedding talk.”

“If it makes you feel any better, Finn’s having a meltdown,” Kurt told him.

“I hate that we’ll never get to have this,” Blaine admitted. “I love you so much, and I want to spend my life with you. I know that’s still our plan, I just wish it could be easier, I guess. I wish we could get married and have a family and have everyone just be happy for us.”

Kurt turned to press a kiss to his temple. “We’ll figure it out, honey. I promise.”

The ceremony was beautiful. Rachel looked stunning, and Finn hadn’t stopped grinning since the moment she’d appeared at the end of the aisle. Kurt looked out into the crowd and met Blaine’s eyes while Rachel and Finn recited their vows, giving him a reassuring smile when he saw the tear tracks on his cheeks. When the officiant pronounced them husband and wife and Finn lifted Rachel right off the floor to kiss her, the entire room erupted into cheers.

As Finn’s best man, it was Kurt’s job to kick off the reception. The DJ had introduced the wedding party and “for the first time as spouses, Mr. Finn Christopher Hudson and Mrs. Rachel Barbara Hudson-Berry!” then handed the mic over to Kurt.

Kurt smiled at the crowd of mostly-familiar faces. “If you’d told me four years ago that I’d be giving the best man speech at Finn Hudson and Rachel Berry’s wedding, I probably would have laughed at you. At that point, Rachel was little more than a vaguely annoying acquaintance to me, and Finn still saw me as the scrawny gay kid that his football buddies occasionally tossed into dumpsters.” He saw Finn chuckling and shaking his head.

“But all of that changed over the past few years. Despite the fact that she still has moments of being vaguely annoying, Rachel has become one of my closest friends. Finn, thanks to a brilliant bit of matchmaking I did during our sophomore year, sleeps down the hall and uses up all the hot water in the morning and occasionally covers for me with our parents when I want to spend the night at my boyfriend’s house.” Kurt paused and winked at Blaine as the guests laughed. He sighed and continued. “I never thought that I’d have a brother. My mom died when I was eight, and for a long time the only family I had was my dad. We did our best, but it wasn’t until Finn and Carole came into our lives that we realized everything we’d been missing.

“And as much as I’d like to talk all night about how much I love these two, that isn’t what we’re here to celebrate today. Rachel and Finn, I have watched the two of you grow from a pair of awkward, fumbling kids who couldn’t figure out what the hell they wanted to a young couple whose love is sweet, honest, and deeply rooted. I wish you a lifetime of joy, beautiful music, and growing deeper into your love for one another. I love you both. We all love you. Be good to each other.” He raised his glass. “To Finn and Rachel!”

“To Finn and Rachel!” the guests echoed.

“And now, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the National Show Choir Championship winning New Directions to the stage as the bride and groom take the floor for their first dance.”

The other New Directions members stepped up to join Kurt as Finn took Rachel’s hand and led her to the floor. Blaine was accompanying them, so Kurt moved closer to the piano and stood behind him with a hand on his shoulder. Blaine [played the opening chords](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RbcR_KSRB8), and Finn twirled Rachel around then pulled her into his arms and kissed her as the girls started to sing.

_The day we met, frozen I held my breath_

_Right from the start I knew that I’d found the home for my heart_

_Beats fast, colors and promises_

_How to be brave? How can I love when I’m afraid to fall?_

_But watching you stand alone_

_All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow_

_One step closer_

Kurt knew he should be watching his brother and his best friend, that this was their moment, but as the chorus began and the boys joined in, he settled on the piano bench next to Blaine and sang the words right to him.

_I have died every day waiting for you_

_Darling, don’t be afraid_

_I have loved you for a thousand years_

_I’ll love you for a thousand more_

_And all along I believed I would find you_

_Time has brought your heart to me_

_I have loved you for a thousand years_

_I’ll love you for a thousand more **  
**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to update four times a week instead of three. I loved writing this chapter, and I hope you enjoyed reading it just as much!


	5. Chapter 5

**August 2012**

After years of feeling like he’d never fit in anywhere, Kurt had finally found a place where he felt like he belonged. New York was everything he’d ever dreamed it would be. He and Blaine had finally gotten settled into their apartment, a cozy two bedroom in Brooklyn, and it was starting to feel like home. They’d wanted something smaller, but most landlords in the non-terrifying parts of the city wouldn’t rent single-bedroom apartments to unmatched couples. They’d made the best of it and turned the extra room into their office and rehearsal space, and eventually they were planning to put an extra bed in there for guests.

His first few days at NYADA had been a little overwhelming, but he was thrilled to be at a school where his talent was recognized and appreciated, rather than mocked or shoved in the background. His voice teachers praised his range and strength, and even though he was less advanced than some of his classmates in his dance and acting classes, he was catching on quickly.

The only class he hadn’t had yet was Intro to Shakespeare, which only met on Wednesday nights, and he was a little nervous about it. His prior experience with the Bard was limited to reading a few of his more popular plays in English classes with the abysmal teachers at McKinley. His professor, Dr. Smithson, was not only a respected scholar, but also a renowned actress who had spent several years performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company in England. Kurt was looking forward to learning from her, but he had a feeling it would be one of his most challenging classes of the semester.

Kurt took a seat near the middle of the classroom and pulled out a notebook and pen. Soon, the whole class had arrived and Dr. Smithson was calling out names to take attendance, starting with Diedre Abernathy. Kurt listened to each of the names and tried to remember if he’d met any of them in his other classes already.

“Alana Fairmont,” the professor called.

A petite brunette a few seats away from Kurt raised her hand. “Here.”

“Elliot Gilbert.”

Kurt gasped, and his eyes darted around the room to see who the name belonged to. A hand went up in the front row. “Here.”

He was gorgeous. Broad shoulders, strong and toned but not too bulky, great hair, maybe a little taller than Kurt, though it was hard to tell when he was sitting down.

“Kurt Hummel.” Dr. Smithson’s voice broke through his thoughts.

Elliott startled a little when he heard Kurt’s name, and Kurt watched him as he raised his hand. “Present,” he said. Elliott’s eyes drifted over him quickly, then he turned his attention back to the front of the room.

Kurt tried to focus for the rest of the class as Dr. Smithson went over the syllabus and her expectations for the semester and gave them a brief overview of Shakespeare’s life and career. He packed up quickly after they were dismissed, expecting Elliott to approach him, but he lingered at the front of the room talking to one of their classmates, which allowed Kurt to slip out without having to talk to him.

By the time Kurt made it home it was after ten, and Blaine was on the couch reading in his pajamas. Kurt dropped his bag and toed off his shoes at the door, then plopped down next to Blaine.

“Hi, honey,” Blaine said as he slid a bookmark in place in his book and leaned over to kiss Kurt. “How was your Shakespeare class?”

Kurt grabbed his face and kissed him again, a little longer this time, before he could pull away. “Hi,” he said, smiling contentedly as he tucked himself against Blaine’s side. “Class was good, but…um, something happened. Something kind of big.”

“Something big and Shakespeare-related?” Blaine asked.

Kurt shook his head. “No, something big and us-related.”

Blaine raised his eyebrows but stayed quiet, prompting Kurt to continue.

“Elliott Gilbert is in my Shakespeare class,” Kurt said.

They were both quiet for a moment after that. Neither of them had expected to meet their match so soon.

“You’re sure it’s your Elliott Gilbert?” Blaine asked.

“Pretty sure. I didn’t talk to him or anything, but after the professor called my name he was definitely checking me out.”

“Well that could just have easily been because you’re ridiculously hot,” Blaine teased.

Kurt laughed and kissed him. “True, but he seemed kind of shaken when he heard my name. I thought he’d try to talk to me after class, but I hurried out of there. Do you think I should drop the class? Or try to sign up for a different section?”

“I don’t think so,” Blaine said. “You go to the same school, and it’s not like NYADA is that big. You’re not going to be able to avoid him forever.”

“You’re right.” Kurt sighed. “This wasn’t supposed to happen this soon.”

Blaine wrapped his arm more tightly around him and gently kissed his forehead. “We’ll figure out out.”

Kurt smiled softly and tipped his head up to press their lips together. Blaine’s fingers tangled in the hair at the back of Kurt’s neck as he lay back and pulled Kurt down on top of him. Their kisses were deep and lazy, despite the sense of nervous urgency they were both suddenly feeling. Their hands roamed over each other’s bodies, but there was no intent to take things any further.

“So,” Blaine said, pulling back and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. “Is he hot?”

“He’s beautiful,” Kurt told him. “But he’s still no match for you.” **  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I appreciate all of you who have left kudos and comments so much! If you feel so inclined, a signal boost on tumblr would be greatly appreciated. I'm dievampiredie there as well, and this this story is in my fic tag.


	6. Chapter 6

**October 2012**

“For your midterm project, you will be placed into teams of two,” Dr. Smithson explained to the class. “Together, you will select a scene from one of the five comedies we’ve read so far this semester and perform it for the class. The full list of criteria is in the packet I handed out at the beginning of class, and the list of who is partnered with whom is on the last page. Please read over the handout now and take the rest of the class period to discuss the project with your partner.”

Kurt flipped the packet open to the last page to see who he’d be working with. He scanned through the list of names until he found his and had to suppress the urge to slam his head into his desk. He’d been paired with Elliott.

The two of them had barely said more than five words to each other since the beginning of the semester. Elliott seemed perfectly friendly with everyone else in the class, but he’d made a point of avoiding Kurt. It was far from what Kurt had expected on the first day of class, and while he didn’t necessarily mind avoiding the fact that Elliott was likely his soulmate, it stung a bit to feel so unliked for no apparent reason.

While Kurt started reading over the other criteria for the assignment, Elliott settled into the chair next to him.

“Hey, Kurt,” he said cordially.

Kurt gave him a small smile. “Hi. Have you read over the handout yet?”

“Yeah, I got to class a few minutes early and looked at it before we started.”

“So…did you have a scene in mind for the assignment?” Kurt asked.

Elliott shrugged. “Not really. I can look through some stuff in the library tomorrow, if you want.”

“Do you want to ask Dr. Smithson if we can head over there together now? I’m sure she wouldn’t mind since we’d still be working on the assignment.”

“No, I can go later.”

Kurt huffed out a breath. “Is there a reason you don’t like me, Elliott?”

Elliott’s head snapped up. “Kurt…”

“You’ve been super friendly with everyone in this class except me. You’ve given me the cold shoulder for weeks, and I don’t understand why. Did I do something wrong?”

“No, Kurt, you didn’t.” Elliott reached over and covered Kurt’s hand with his. “I’m really sorry. Can we go get coffee or something after class? I know I owe you an explanation, but I don’t want to do it here.”

“Um, sure,” Kurt said.

They spent the rest of the class flipping through their books, trying to come up with a scene they could use. They didn’t talk much, aside from occasionally showing each other an option that they’d found. As they were packing up at the the end of class, Kurt pulled out his phone and sent a text to Blaine, letting him know he’d be home a bit later than usual and that he didn’t need to wait up if he was tired.

Kurt and Elliott made their way to a cafe near campus that was open all night. They each ordered a coffee and a snack, then settled into a table in the corner. Kurt was feeling fidgety, unsure how he was going to feel about whatever it was Elliott wanted to tell him.

“So, can I just apologize again for the way I’ve treated you for the past two months?” Elliott began. “I’ve been an ass, and I’m really sorry about that.”

“Apology accepted,” Kurt said. “Now, do you want to tell me _why_ you’ve been acting like an ass?”

“Actually, if you don’t mind, I’d rather just show you.”

Kurt nodded his assent, and Elliott rolled up his right sleeve and removed the cuff around his wrist. Kurt gasped. It was one thing to assume that Elliott was his match, but to see his name in bold black letters on another person’s body was more than a little overwhelming.

“When I heard your name in class the first day, it freaked me out,” Elliott admitted. “I’ve spent years being terrified of the day I’d meet my soulmate, and suddenly there you were.”

“Terrified?” Kurt asked.

Elliott nodded. “I’m asexual. I’ve never had any interest in romantic relationships, and the few times that I’ve attempted sex have been disastrous. So, yeah, the idea of having a soulmate who might force me into something I don’t want is terrifying.”

“So you avoided me.”

“As much as I could, yeah. Then, when you didn’t approach me, I started to realize that maybe you weren’t my Kurt Hummel. But by that point we had established this pattern of avoidance, and it still seemed too risky to rock the boat.”

Kurt sighed. “Elliott,” he said as he pulled up his sleeve and laid his arm on the table between them. “I am your Kurt Hummel.”

Elliott stared at his name on Kurt’s wrist as if it was a death sentence, and as Kurt watched him he saw the tears springing up in his eyes.

“No, shh, don’t cry.” Kurt turned his arm over and reached for Elliott’s hand with both of his. “You’ll smudge your eyeliner.”

Elliott sniffed and rapidly blinked his eyes to clear away the tears. “Well, it’s nice to finally meet you, I guess,” he said with a small smile.

“Elliott, I didn’t approach you because I have a boyfriend,” Kurt explained. “We were together in high school and thought we were going to be matched, but we decided to stay together even after we weren’t. I was terrified of you, too.”

“Really?” Elliott asked, his eyes still shining.

“Yeah. So everything you just told me, the fact that you don’t want a romantic relationship with your soulmate, is pretty much the best news I’ve heard since the first time Blaine told me he loved me.”

Elliott grinned. “Blaine is your boyfriend, I assume?”

“Boyfriend, other half, love of my life…he goes by a lot of names.” Kurt smiled at the thought. “He’s going to be so happy about this.”

“So where does this leave us?” Elliott asked.

Kurt considered him for a moment. “Friends? You seem like a really great guy, and now that I know you’re not a threat to my relationship with Blaine, I want to get to know you better.”

“Okay,” Elliott agreed happily. “Friends. Platonic soulmates.”

“I like the sound of that,” Kurt said.

They talked a little more, about where they came from and what brought them to New York, as they finished what was left of their coffees. They were taking different trains home, so they exchanged phone numbers and hugs and parted ways outside the coffee shop. Kurt wanted to call Blaine the moment he was out of Elliott’s earshot, but he decided to hold in the news and tell him in person when he got home. **  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am overwhelmingly thrilled that this fic has over a thousand hits already. Thank you all so much for reading!!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapters contains spoilers for the musical _Bare_.

**December 2012**

For the end of term Freshman Showcase, Kurt and Elliott had decided to perform a few scenes from the musical _Bare_ with some of their classmates, since it was a musical that included scenes from _Romeo and Juliet_. They were selected to play the leads, Peter and Jason. They’d spent weeks rehearsing, and Kurt was thrilled to finally be performing.

Kurt and Elliott had become friends fairly quickly after their conversation in the cafe. Blaine was thrilled to hear that Elliott had no problem with their relationship, and he encouraged Kurt to spend time getting to know his new friend. All three of them had even hung out a few times, and it didn’t take long for them to realize that Blaine and Elliott got along almost as well as Kurt and Elliott did. After patiently enduring weeks of losing his boyfriend to late-night rehearsals, Blaine was happily sitting in the audience the night of their performance.

One of their castmates stepped forward to give the audience some necessary background information while the rest of them took their places onstage. She explained that this was a play within a play, a group of Catholic high school students performing _Romeo and Juliet_ while also dealing with some pretty heavy stuff backstage. Peter and Jason, once roommates, best friends, and secret lovers, had broken up when Jason refused to come out of the closet. Jason had slept with pretty, popular Ivy after they were cast as the leads in the school play, and she’d ended up pregnant. Just before opening night, Jason, desperate for some peace and clarity, went to confession and told the Father about his relationship with Peter. When he asked if it was okay, if _he_ was okay, the priest told him to keep quiet, focus on graduation, and not question God’s word. The scenes they were about to present were the climax of the story.

After her introduction, she moved to her place, and the chorus began to sing.

_Two households both alike in dignity_

_In fair Verona, where we lay our scene_

_From ancient grudge break to new mutiny_

_Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean_

The scene continued with Elliott, as Jason, telling Kurt, as Peter, that he’d talked to the Father about them. Jason begged Peter to run away with him, but Peter refused, saying they couldn’t hide anymore. There were brief moments between a few other characters, then the actors were called to places and everyone cleared off the stage except Peter and Jason. The accompanist played the opening chords to the play’s title [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL9Sn5hh9Bg&index=30&list=PLAACB872395737496), and Elliott began to sing.

_Do you remember the day that you met me?_

_I swear it was yesterday I knew with a glance_

_That you were the question and you were the answer,_

_That the world would make sense again if I held your hand_

The song continued, Kurt and Elliott’s voices soaring and blending beautifully as their characters reminisced about the beginning of their relationship and lamented their current situation. They drifted and danced around each other, until, by the end of the chorus, they stood with their arms wrapped around each other, foreheads pressed together and singing the heart-wrenching words with their mouths only inches apart. When Peter tried to leave to take his place onstage, Jason stopped him and pulled him back into his arms, Elliott’s eyes locked with Kurt’s as he sang.

_Here in a world where there’s safety in falsehood_

_I have discovered the one thing that’s real_

_That I love you, and I loved you from the start_

_And if you hold that close to you, we’ll never be apart_

The song ended with both boys declaring their love for each other and falling into a desperate kiss, clutching at each other until it was time for them to be onstage. The scene transitioned into the _Romeo and Juliet_ performance, with Elliott/Jason playing Romeo and Kurt/Peter as Mercutio. It was just the two of them again, in the scene before the Capulets’ party.

" _I dreamt a dream tonight_ ,” Elliott sang.

“ _And so did I_ ,” Kurt followed.

“ _And what was yours?_ ”

“ _That dreamers often lie_.”

“ _In bed asleep while they do dream things true_.”

Kurt smiled. “ _Oh, then I seen Queen Mab hath been with you_.”

Mercutio’s Queen Mab monologue had always been a favorite of Kurt’s, and the melody it was set to in the play was haunting and lovely. The scene ended with Peter realizing something was wrong with Jason and moved into a dance sequence with the rest of the cast. Kurt’s eyes followed Elliott the entire time, as Jason stumbled through the steps and Peter became more and more concerned.

Finally, Jason collapsed, and Peter rushed over to him. He held Jason as he gasped for air, then finally went limp in his arms, dead as a result of a drug overdose. Kurt didn’t have to try very hard to muster up real tears as he clutched Elliot’s limp body and the chorus sang their final words.

_A glooming peace this morning with it brings_

_The sun, for sorrow, will not show its head_

_Go hence to have more talk of these sad things_

_Some shall be pardoned, and some punished_

The audience leapt to their feet, applauding and cheering as Kurt, still a little teary-eyed, helped Elliott to his feet and they all took their bows. They hurried off the stage, and as soon as they were out of the way Elliott grabbed Kurt and pulled him into a hug.

“You were amazing,” Elliott murmured into Kurt’s hair.

Kurt smiled against his neck. “You didn’t do so bad, yourself.”

“Sorry I made you cry.”

“I was caught up in the moment,” Kurt insisted.

“Uh huh, sure,” Elliott teased.

Kurt pulled back and smacked him in the arm. “Fine, watching you die onstage caused me excessive emotional damage. You’ll be paying my therapy bills for the next several months. Happy?”

“Thrilled.” Elliott grinned and took Kurt’s hand. “Let’s go find your boyfriend so he can wax poetic about how awesome we were.”

Just as Elliott had predicted, Blaine met them in the lobby with huge hugs and enthusiastic words of praise. Elliott soaked it up happily, but Kurt could tell that something was a little off with the way Blaine was acting. He waited until they’d parted ways with Elliott and were home for the night before he brought it up.

“Are you okay?” Kurt asked as they settled down on the couch.

“Yeah, of course,” Blaine said, eyes trained on their DVD collection across the room.

“Blaine.”

“What?”

“Look at me, please.”

Blaine turned to look him in the eyes, and Kurt took his hand. “What’s wrong? You’ve been acting weird since we found you after the show.”

“Are you sleeping with Elliott?” Blaine blurted out.

Kurt pulled his hand away and gave Blaine a long look. “Are you serious?”

“Yes, Kurt, I’m serious. Are you?”

“Blaine, you know that Elliott wants nothing to do with me sexually; he doesn’t even want a relationship with me. He loves that you and I are together and that he and I can just be friends. Where is this coming from?”

“You say all that, but the way you two looked at each other on that stage tonight--”

“We were acting!” Kurt shouted. “You know, the thing that I’m going to school for? The thing I want to do with the rest of my life? Do you really have that little confidence in my talent?”

“Kurt, come on, you know I know how talented you are,” Blaine assured him.

“So why are you making such a big deal out of this? Elliott is my friend, Blaine, nothing more.”

Blaine sighed. “But he _is_ more. He’s your soulmate.”

“He’s not, honey. I know the marks on our wrists may say so, but my heart?” Kurt picked up Blaine’s hand and laid it on his own chest. “That’s all yours.”

Tears welled up in Blaine’s eyes, his fingers clutching at Kurt’s shirt as they started to fall. “I’m just so scared that you’re going to wake up one day and realize that isn’t true anymore.”

“Never,” Kurt declared. He pulled Blaine into his arms. “That’s never going to happen, B. I’m always going to love you.”

“How can you be so sure?” Blaine asked, his voice muffled against Kurt’s shirt.

“Maybe I can’t. Maybe it’s impossible to ever truly be sure about anything.” Kurt pulled back and cupped Blaine’s face in his hands so he could look him in the eyes. “But I believe it with every fiber of my being. I love you, Blaine Anderson, and there is nothing in this world that will ever change that fact. Okay?”

Blaine nodded and leaned forward to meet Kurt’s lips with a kiss. “Okay.” **  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're interested in checking out more of _Bare_ there are several versions available on youtube. Personally, I'm a fan of the original pop opera over the more recent off-Broadway musical, but there are good versions of both available.


	8. Chapter 8

**February 2013**

“Why don’t you look up movie times while I finish making dinner? All I ask is that it’s in color, in English, and made after 1969.” Blaine kissed Kurt on the cheek and went back into the kitchen.

After a few stressful months of barely having time to see each other, they’d established Fridays as their date night. Sometimes that meant staying in, cooking dinner together, and hours of sex, and sometimes it meant going out. Tonight they’d decided on a little bit of both.

Kurt grabbed Blaine’s tablet from the coffee table and scrolled through until he found the Fandango app. Before he opened it, he noticed an icon he’d never seen before underneath. It was a picture of a pair of binoculars with a letter “s” on each lens. The title underneath said “SoulSearcher.” Kurt had seen ads for the site before; it was an online service that was supposed to help people find their soulmates. He had no idea that Blaine had signed up.

“Blaine?” Kurt called out to the kitchen. “Did you join SoulSearcher?”

When Blaine reappeared he was sheepishly biting his lip. “Are you mad?”

Kurt thought about the question for a moment. Was he mad? Not really. He was curious, a bit confused, and maybe a little hurt, but there wasn’t any anger in him over this. He told Blaine as much, and Blaine sighed in relief. He didn’t want to burn their dinner, so he asked if Kurt could come into the kitchen and talk while he cooked.

Kurt leaned against the doorway into the kitchen. “What made you decide to sign up, B? Is it because of me and Elliott? Because I’ve told you at least a hundred times that we’re just friends.”

“Not exactly,” Blaine said. “I mean, it’s kind of about you and Elliott, but not because I think you’re going to leave me for him or anything like that. I joined because I thought maybe Daniel might turn out to be like Elliott, that he might not be looking for a relationship with me either, and maybe we’d been feeling all this anxiety for the past year about something that is going to turn out just fine.”

“Have you found him?” Kurt asked.

Blaine shook his head. “There’s no Daniel Evenston in their database who’s matched with a Blaine Anderson. I tried googling him too, but there are apparently quite a lot of Daniel Evenstons in the world. One of them is a porn star.”

“Well that one’s clearly not asexual,” Kurt quipped.

Blaine turned the stove off and moved the pot of sauce he’d been stirring off the burner. They both stayed quiet for a moment as Blaine opened the oven and poured the homemade barbecue sauce over the pieces of chicken he’d been baking, then put them back in the oven to finish cooking.

“Do you want to make a salad?” Blaine asked. “Everything else should be ready in a few minutes.”

Kurt washed his hands and pulled out a cutting board and a knife. He grabbed a selection of veggies from the fridge and started chopping and slicing them, then tossed them all together in a bowl while Blaine put the finishing touches on their dessert.

When everything was done they settled down together at the small kitchen table to eat.

“Kurt, are you sure you’re not mad?” Blaine asked. “I can delete the account if you don’t want me looking for him.”

“I want you to do whatever feels right to you,” Kurt said. “If you think finding him will give you some peace of mind about us, then I say go for it.”

“Are you sure?”

Kurt nodded. He wasn’t, really, but he wouldn’t tell Blaine he had to stop his search. Kurt would rather knowingly agree to Blaine looking for Daniel than find out down the road that he’d gone behind Kurt’s back. “It’s fine, sweetie, and maybe you’re right. Maybe Daniel will turn out to be just like Elliott and we’ll have spent the last year worrying over nothing.”

Blaine smiled. “Do you want to just stay in and watch a movie here tonight?”

“Do I still get to pick the movie?”

“Sure, but what I said earlier still stands: color, English, post-1969.”

Kurt let out a melodramatic sigh and rolled his eyes. “If you insist.” **  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is later than usual. I was busy hanging out with Star Wars characters and Ghostbusters today.


	9. Chapter 9

**April 2013**

“Blaine, there you are! There’s someone I’m _dying_ for you to meet!” Kurt rolled his eyes as Blaine’s cousin, Christina, tugged him away from the conversation they’d been having with his Aunt Missi, one of Blaine’s less awful relatives. It was Christina’s engagement party, and since Blaine’s parents were out of the country and the party was in New York, they’d asked Blaine to go and represent their family. Anderson family functions were always uncomfortable events for Kurt and Blaine, as most of the Andersons were very traditional and refused to stay quiet about their disapproval of Kurt and Blaine’s “deviant” relationship.

Kurt apologized to Missi and quickly followed after Blaine and Christina, wanting to know who this person was that Blaine just _had_ to meet right at that moment. He caught up with them just as Christina was explaining that the tall, muscular blonde shaking Blaine’s hand was “an old friend from Princeton who’s finishing up his last year at Columbia Law.”

Blaine’s entire body was rigid, and his breathing was shallow and panicky. Kurt had clearly missed something. He ran a soothing hand down Blaine’s spine and rested it on his lower back.

“Oh, and this is my boyfriend, Kurt,” Blaine told the mystery man, just a bit too enthusiastically.

The man slowly looked Kurt up and down before stretching his hand out to shake. “Pleased to meet you,” he said with a mildly condescending Southern twang. “I’m Daniel Evenston.”

Kurt gasped, and it took a moment for him to return the offered handshake. “Kurt Hummel,” he said as he looked at Daniel a little more closely. Expensive gray suit, commanding physical presence, off-putting smile, _terrible_ hair. A Southern born, Ivy League-educated lawyer. Obviously wealthy. He’d said seven words, and Kurt already hated him.

“So,” Daniel said. “Are you two matched?”

Blaine and Kurt looked at each other in astonishment. They’d never been asked that question so bluntly before, especially not within minutes of meeting someone. It was completely tactless.

“Daniel!” Christina chastised him with a swat to his arm. “Don’t be rude.”

“I apologize,” Daniel said, though he seemed far from sincere. “I didn’t intend to call your relationship into question, it’s just that my soulmate’s name is Blaine Anderson as well, so I thought it possible that we might be matched, Blaine.”

Blaine was trembling, and Kurt wrapped a steadying arm around his waist.

Daniel didn’t stop talking. “I’m sure it’s just a coincidence. You two are obviously matched. I know an Anderson man wouldn’t get himself caught up in an unsavory relationship, and if he did, he certainly wouldn’t flaunt it so publicly.”

Kurt glared at him. “Blaine and I were high school sweethearts, actually. We’ve been together for quite a while, so our relationship is far from ‘unsavory.’”

“So you are unmatched? Well, then, why don’t we go get a drink and chat for a bit, Blaine?” Daniel offered his arm, and Blaine recoiled.

“I think I’ll pass,” Blaine said, leaning in to Kurt’s side.

“Blaine, don’t be foolish. You’re my soulmate. Say goodbye to your little fling, now, and come with me. There’s no need to cause a scene.”

“Did you completely miss what Kurt said to you?” Blaine asked, his voice quickly rising in volume. “This isn’t a ‘little fling.’ I’ve been with Kurt for over two years, and I love him. We have a home together. We have no intention of breaking up, especially not over someone like you. Now, if you’ll excuse us, I think it’s time for us to be going.” He turned to his cousin, who’d been standing by watching their interaction. “Christina, mother and father send their best wishes.”

With that, Blaine took Kurt’s hand and led him out of the house, ignoring the looks from his relatives as they passed.

“Can you believe him?” Blaine seethed. “Thinking I was just going to walk away from you right then and there and ride off into the sunset with him? Unbelievable!”

“Well, your parents would certainly approve,” Kurt said gloomily. “Not just your match, but an old money, Ivy League lawyer. They’d be over the fucking moon.”

“Kurt.” Blaine turned and pulled Kurt out of the way of the other pedestrians. He took Kurt’s face in his hands and looked deep into his eyes. “That asshole doesn’t mean anything to me, okay? Tonight doesn’t change anything. I love you.”

Kurt took a deep breath and nodded, willing away the tears that he’d been fighting since hearing Daniel introduce himself. “I love you, too.”

Blaine kissed his forehead and laced their fingers together. “C’mon, let’s go home." **  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates this week may be a little later than usual. I've been pulled in at the last minute to do makeup for a show that's in tech right now and opening this weekend.


	10. Chapter 10

**July 2013**

It didn’t take long for life to go back to normal after the confrontation with Daniel. They’d spent a few days talking about it, agreeing that he was an ass and didn’t deserve Blaine, and then the subject was dropped and they were back to business as usual. Or Kurt thought they were, at least.

Blaine came home much later than usual one Tuesday evening, and he looked rattled.

“Are you okay?” Kurt asked, meeting Blaine at the door and wrapping him up in his arms. “Why didn’t you pick up your phone? I was worried.”

Blaine hugged Kurt for a moment, then led him over to the couch and sat down. “I ran into Daniel today,” Blaine explained. “He apologized for the way he behaved at Christina’s party and asked if we could talk.”

Kurt’s heart started to race, but he tried to remain calm. “So that’s why you’re getting home so late?”

“Yeah,” Blaine said. “We went to get coffee and talked. I told him about you, about us thinking we’d be matched. And I told him about you and Elliott. He was pretty shocked by that part.”

“Because my match is fine with us being together?” Kurt asked.

“That and the fact that I stayed with you after you met Elliott, I think. He’s a traditionalist, obviously. He doesn’t believe in unmatched relationships at all, and ours is particularly unconventional.”

“So where does this leave us?” Kurt didn’t want to dance around the issue longer than necessary. “Are you going to keep seeing him? Are you going to try to get to know him better?”

Blaine sighed heavily. “He told me he wouldn’t see me again until I’d broken things off with you.”

Oh. There it was, the feeling that the rug had been pulled out from under him again. Kurt took a shaky breath. “What did you tell him?”

There were tears in Blaine’s eyes when he looked at Kurt. He reached out and held Kurt’s face in his hands, the same way he had so many times before, whenever he needed to make sure Kurt was really hearing him. “I have to go, Kurt. I’m afraid if I don’t, it will end up ruining us for good.”

Kurt pulled Blaine’s hands away from his face and stood up. “So you’re going to ruin us now to avoid the possibility of ruining us later?”

“Sweetheart, please—”

“No, you don’t get to ‘sweetheart, please’ me right now, Blaine, not when you’re breaking every promise we’ve ever made to each other.” Kurt swiped the angry tears from his cheeks and moved toward the door. “I’m going to Elliott’s. I’d rather not stay and watch you walk out on me.”

“Kurt, wait, please. I’m not saying that I’m leaving forever, okay? I love you, and I just need a little time to figure some things out. Can’t you just give me that? I don’t want to lose you.”

Kurt shook his head. “If you loved me, you wouldn’t be leaving me for _him_.” He slipped his shoes on, grabbed his messenger bag, and opened the door. Before he left, Kurt gave Blaine one last, long look. “I love you, and I’m sorry that wasn’t enough to make you stay.” He shut the door before Blaine could respond.

Elliott was at work, but Kurt had a key to his apartment. He let himself in and left his shoes and his bag near the door. Unsure what else to do in that moment, Kurt curled up in Elliott’s bed, clutching a pillow to his chest, and cried himself to sleep.

A few hours later, he woke to Elliott sitting on the bed next to him, his hand on Kurt’s shoulder.

“Kurt?” Elliott said quietly. “What’s up? Why aren’t you sleeping at home in your own bed?”

Kurt sniffed and rubbed his eyes. He felt like he’d been hit by a train. “Blaine left,” Kurt explained, his voice heavy with sleep and sadness.

Elliott was clearly taken aback by those two simple words. He laid down beside Kurt. “What do you mean he left, honey?”

“He saw Daniel again today. He’s leaving me to be with his real soulmate.” Saying it out loud was awful, and Kurt realized this was just the first of many times he was going to have to deliver this news.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Elliott opened his arms. He was clearly unsure what exactly Kurt needed from him, as Kurt had always looked to Blaine when he needed comfort before. Kurt accepted the gesture, though, and moved closer so Elliott could wrap his strong arms around him.

“I don’t know what to say,” Elliott whispered.

Kurt sighed. “That makes two of us.”

They stayed there a while, not saying anything. Kurt would occasionally sniffle, or a stray tear would fall down his cheek, and Elliott would hold him a little tighter or run his fingers through Kurt’s hair or stroke his back.

“He said he was doing it to protect us,” Kurt finally explained. “He was worried that if he didn’t go to Daniel now, if he just stayed with me and didn’t give him a chance, that it would eventually ruin us.”

“He’s an idiot,” Elliott spat, more venomously that Kurt would have expected from him.

Kurt shook his head. “He’s not. He’s probably right, as much as I hate to admit it. You know how he is, when something gets in his head. It consumes him. Blaine doesn’t do things by halves, and I think he honestly believes he can’t fully commit to me without knowing for sure that Daniel isn’t right for him.”

“He’s still an idiot.”

“Maybe he is.” Kurt shrugged. “Am I an idiot for hoping that he’ll come back?”

“Of course you’re not,” Elliott said. “I hope he will, too.”

Kurt gave him a small smile. “Can I stay here for a couple days? I’m not sure I can handle being in the apartment without him right away.”

“Of course you can.” Elliott kissed Kurt’s forehead and pulled him close again. “Stay as long as you need to.” **  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a little extra time between classes and managed to get this posted earlier than I thought I would! I can't believe this thing is at almost 2000 hits already. You guys are amazing! Just to warn you, things get pretty angsty over the next couple chapters. Chapter 11 deals pretty heavily with Finn's death, and Kurt's grief is a big part of the next couple chapters. Feel free to message me on tumblr if you're worried about anything being too triggering, and I can give you a better idea of what's coming and what you might need to avoid.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I warned for it already, but I would rather over-warn than risk triggering someone. This chapter deals very heavily with Finn's death and the aftermath. If that is a trigger for you, please skip this chapter and contact me via tumblr if you want me to fill you in on what you'll need to know to read the rest of the story.

**September 2013**

It had been a long, exhausting day, and Kurt was glad to be on his way home. Things were slowly getting easier without Blaine, but there were still days that left Kurt feeling like he was drowning. He needed to go home, take a bath, and curl up on the couch with a book until Elliott got out of work. Kurt had sent him a text a few hours ago asking if he could come over. By this point, Elliott knew that was code for “Today’s been bad and I need you.” Kurt was so grateful for Elliott. It couldn’t be easy for him to watch his soulmate pining after someone else, but he’d been by Kurt’s side every day, doing his best to make Kurt happy.

Kurt pulled out his phone as he reached the street and discovered he had missed three calls from his dad in the half hour he’d been on the subway. He took a deep breath, bracing himself as he returned the call.

His dad answered almost immediately. “Kurt, bud, where are you?”

“On my way home. I just got off the train and saw that I missed your calls. What’s going on?”

Burt sighed. “There was accident. Rachel and Finn were hit by a drunk driver last night on their way home from Rachel’s show.”

“Are they okay?” Kurt stopped and leaned against the wall of a shop.

“Rachel’s arm is broken, and she cracked a couple ribs. She’s pretty banged up.” There was something wrong with his dad’s voice. He sounded like he’d been crying.

“Dad, what about Finn?”

Burt sniffed. “Finn…he, uh…he didn’t make it, bud.”

Kurt’s knees gave out. No. This couldn’t be happening. He’d just talked to Finn a few days ago; he couldn’t be…this was some horrible, sick joke that the universe was playing on them. There was no way that his brother was--

“Kurt? Kurt!” He’d dropped his phone, and his dad was trying to get his attention. Kurt picked up the phone.

“How’s Rachel? And…and Carole? How are they doing?”

“Not too good, kid. They’re both pretty messed up right now. Rachel’s hardly said two words since we got to the hospital. Listen, Kurt, I know you have school and you’re busy, but--”

“Dad, stop. I’ll be on the first flight I can get.”

“Okay. That’s…that’s good. Just call me when you know the details, okay? I’ll be there to pick you up, doesn’t matter what time you get in.”

“Okay.”

“I love you, Kurt.”

“Love you, too, Dad.”

Kurt hung up the phone and put his head between his knees, breathing deeply. He needed to get up. He needed to go home and book a flight and pack and get to the airport. He needed to go back to Ohio and be with his family and start planning a funeral, because his brother--

He quickly stood up and started walking toward his apartment. He couldn’t lose it, not yet. There was too much to do. When he got home he pulled out his suitcase and started packing as he called the airport to ask how soon he could get to Columbus. He booked a flight with a ten o’clock departure time and sent his dad a text letting him know he’d be arriving a little after midnight. He put his black suit into a garment bag, made sure he had the proper shoes to go with it, filled his messenger bag with a few scripts and textbooks so he could at least attempt to keep up with his homework while he was gone. He sent an email to his professors, letting them know that he had a family emergency and would be out of class for at least the rest of the week.

Kurt didn’t want to stop moving. If he stopped, if he sat down or let his mind rest, he would think about Finn. If he thought about Finn, he would break. He didn’t want to be alone when that happened.

The phone rang. Kurt picked it up and saw Elliott’s face smiling back at him. “Hello?”

“Kurt? Are you okay? You sound terrible. Anyway, I got your text, and I’m on my way to your place now. Sorry you’re having a crappy day, but I have pie! Do you need anything else?”

“Pie?”

“Should I bring ice cream, too? I can stop and grab some. You really don’t sound good, sweetie. Was today really that bad?”

“Elliott, how far away are you?”

“I just got off the train, so just a few blocks.”

“I don’t need ice cream. Just get here fast, please.”

Kurt hung up and dropped down on the couch. He couldn’t breathe. His whole body was trembling. He felt like he was going to suffocate. Fuck, he needed Elliott to hurry.

Minutes later, Elliott burst through the door, panting and slightly sweaty. He knelt down in front of the couch and pulled Kurt’s hands down from where they were clenched and pulling at his hair. “Kurt, what happened?”

Kurt looked up, and his tears finally started to fall. “My brother…” He couldn’t even get the words out. He took a deep breath. “There was an accident…my brother and Rachel…they were hit by a drunk driver. Rachel broke her arm and...and her ribs, and Finn…he…he’s…” Kurt sobbed. “He’s gone.”

“Oh, Kurt.” Elliott sat next to him on the couch and pulled Kurt into his arms. “What do you need? What can I do?”

Kurt sniffed. “I have to go to Ohio.”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

“You can’t leave right now. You have classes, and your audition for the _American Idiot_ tour is next week.”

“Kurt.” Elliott nudged him so that he could look Kurt in the eyes. “You’re my soulmate and my best friend. If you need me, I’m going with you.”

Kurt laid his head back down on Elliott’s shoulder. “Call Delta and see if there’s another seat available on the ten o’clock flight to Columbus.”

The following days were absolute hell. Despite the fact that he was exhausted, Kurt had asked his dad to take him to see Rachel as soon as he and Elliott had arrived in Columbus. They drove to the apartment Rachel and Finn had moved into after the wedding, and Kurt spent the next several hours on the couch holding her while she alternated between crying and sleeping. She’d refused to spend the night alone in the bed she’d shared with Finn, and the few hours of sleep she got on the couch were the first she’d gotten since waking up from surgery after the accident.

They all went back to Lima the next morning, including Rachel, who they dropped off at her dads’ house. As soon as they arrived at Kurt’s parents’ house, Kurt and Elliott went upstairs to Kurt’s old room to lie down for a few hours. Kurt felt wrong leaving Rachel and his parents, even for a short time, but there was no way he could stay awake any longer. He climbed into his old bed, and Elliott lay down beside him, keeping some distance between their bodies. He was clearly feeling a little out of his element, in a addition to being just as tired as Kurt. Kurt reached over and squeezed his hand.

“Will you hold me?” Kurt asked. Since Blaine left, Elliott had started spending a few nights a week at Kurt’s apartment, and they were usually the only nights that Kurt managed to sleep through the night rather than just a few restless hours.

Elliott turned and pulled Kurt into him, his chest against Kurt’s back. “Try to get some sleep, okay?” he murmured against Kurt’s shoulder.

Kurt didn’t say anything more, he just tried his best to settle into the sense of warmth and peace that always seemed to come from having Elliott’s arms around him. His mind was still filled with thoughts of his brother and Rachel and his parents and how much everything _hurt_ , but after being awake for well over thirty hours, it wasn’t long before he fell asleep.

Over the next few days, there were phone calls to their friends and relatives to tell them what had happened, meetings at the funeral home to make arrangements for the memorial service, and visits from neighbors and family friends offering casseroles and their condolences. Every time Elliott noticed that Kurt’s carefully held composure was starting to slip, he would pull him away for a few hours to get some rest. If Kurt couldn’t sleep, they would talk or Elliott would sing to him. Kurt told Elliott stories about Finn. Sometimes they would both end up laughing, and sometimes Kurt would sob into Elliott’s chest and curse the world for its unfairness.

Nearly everyone from New Directions had come back to Lima, and they’d arranged a song to perform in Finn’s memory during the service. The only person from their graduating class and the class behind them who didn’t show up at their rehearsal/reunion in the McKinley choir room was Blaine.

Kurt had known as soon as they’d started making the calls to all of Finn’s friends that Blaine would need to be called eventually. He wasn’t sure if Blaine would come back to Lima for the memorial, but he at least deserved to be told by an actual person before he found out via Facebook or something. He knew he should make the call himself, but he couldn’t do it. He’d gone as far as dialing Blaine’s number, but he panicked and passed the phone off to his dad before Blaine answered. Burt had been the one to break the news to Blaine, who had apparently sounded devastated and said he’d do his best to be there for the memorial.

By the day of the service, Kurt felt like the grief had sunk deep into his bones. He sat in the front row of the church between Elliott and Rachel, each of them holding one of his hands, as several different people stood up to share stories about Finn. Puck talked about Finn being a quarterback both on and off the field. Mr. Schuester talked about how talented he was. Tina barely made it through two sentences before she broke down crying and walked away from the podium. Everyone had a memory to share, some sweet and some funny. It felt a little wrong to be laughing at a funeral, but Finn had always been good at bringing people together and making them smile.

The New Directions’ song closed out the memorial, and every one of them was in tears as they sang. When it was all over, there was time for everyone to mingle for a while before the graveside service, which was reserved for family and close friends. Elliott stood nearby chatting with a few of Kurt’s friends while Kurt accepted condolences from people he barely knew. An old neighbor of Carole and Finn’s had just finished expressing his sympathies to Kurt and moved on to talk to Rachel when Kurt looked up and was met with face he hadn’t expected to see. He took a deep breath, steeling his nerves and praying that they wouldn’t make a scene.

“Blaine,” Kurt said as coolly as he could manage. “Thank you for coming.”

Blaine reached out to grab his hand, but Kurt withdrew, stepping closer to Elliott and looking away from Blaine.

“Kurt…” Blaine’s eyes were red-rimmed and still filled with tears. “I’m so sorry.”

Whether he was apologizing for leaving or saying he was sorry for Kurt’s loss, Kurt didn’t want to hear it. He turned and tugged on Elliott’s hand to pull his attention away from whatever Finn-story Mercedes had been sharing with him. “Can we go?” Kurt asked. “Please? I need to get out of here.”

Elliott noticed Blaine’s presence, then, and laced his fingers through Kurt’s and nodded. “Yeah. C’mon, I think there’s a car waiting outside for us.” He led Kurt through the crowd and out the door, and Blaine didn’t bother to follow them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for posting so late today. It has been a hell of a day, and I haven't had a free moment until now. Tomorrow's chapter should be fairly early.


	12. Chapter 12

**October 2013**

The tequila made everything feel fuzzy. Kurt stumbled, and Elliott reached out to steady him.

“C’mon, Kurt, we’re almost home.” Elliott grabbed his hand and guided him up the last few stairs and into his apartment.

Elliott smelled so good. Like sweat and spice and _man_. Kurt wrapped both his arms around Elliott’s waist and buried his nose against his neck, breathing him in. Elliott returned the hug and gently swayed back and forth with Kurt in his arms.

“You okay?” Elliott asked.

Kurt nodded against his neck, but he didn’t let go. He felt good here, more grounded, less like his whole world was spinning out of control.

“You make everything go away,” Kurt whispered. “How do you do that?”

Elliott chuckled. “I think that might be the tequila.”

“No,” Kurt insisted. He picked his head up to look into Elliott’s eyes. “It’s you. Blaine left me, and my brother died, and I wake up every day and it _hurts_. But then you’re there, and even though they’re still gone, it doesn’t hurt so much. I don’t feel so alone.”

Elliott blinked at him, clearly at a loss for words. Kurt leaned forward and pressed their lips together. Oh, he’d missed this. Kissing, being close to someone like this, it felt like one of his missing pieces was sliding back into place. He stretched up on his tiptoes and wrapped his arms tightly around Elliott’s neck, needing him closer.

“Kurt…” Elliott pulled away and rested their foreheads together, his hands slowly stroking up and down Kurt’s back.

“Please,” Kurt begged. “Don’t go.” He sealed his mouth over Elliott’s again and started shuffling them back toward his bedroom. “Need you. Stay with me, please.”

Elliott kissed back this time. He wrapped his arms around Kurt’s waist and moved to the bedroom with him, lowering Kurt gently to the bed when they got there. He was the calm counterpoint to Kurt’s chaos. He ran his hands reverently up Kurt’s sides and back down his arms, then settled on top of him. “What do you need?” he asked softly.

Kurt leaned up to kiss him again, but Elliott pulled back.

“Please,” Kurt whined.

“Tell me what you need, Kurt.”

“Kiss me. Touch me. Just _be_ with me, please.”

“Shhh…okay.” Elliott leaned down and lightly brushed his lips over Kurt’s. “You’re okay,” he whispered.

A few tears spilled from Kurt’s eyes, and Elliott brushed them away with his thumbs and kissed Kurt’s eyelids before returning to his mouth. Their kisses grew deeper and hungrier, and they slowly undressed one another. When they were both naked, Elliott asked Kurt what he needed again.

“Want my mouth on you,” Kurt said, his lips trailing across Elliott’s chest and down his belly. Kurt spread Elliott’s legs and settled between them, taking a moment to appreciate the sight of his soulmate sprawled out and naked beneath him for the first time. He grabbed Elliott’s right hand and looked at his wrist. Kurt kissed the spot where his name was written, and then he guided Elliott’s hands to the back of his head. “Show me how you like it,” he said, then leaned down and sank his mouth over Elliott’s cock.

Elliott’s fingers threaded through Kurt’s hair, occasionally pulling, while Kurt bobbed and sucked and laved his tongue over Elliott’s shaft and down to his balls. Somewhere at the back of his mind, Kurt thought about how Elliott’s cock felt different than Blaine’s. It was a little thicker, and Elliott was uncircumcised, which was a new experience for Kurt. He tasted different, too, though that was a little harder to put into words. Kurt licked at the slit, collecting the little drops of precome that had started to leak out, as Elliott whined and tried to push himself deeper into Kurt’s mouth.

When Elliott warned Kurt that he was close, Kurt pulled off and stretched out on top of Elliott again, rutting his own cock against Elliott’s hip. Elliott reached down and grabbed Kurt’s cock with a trembling hand, stroking him hard right from the start. It was a little too rough, but Kurt reveled in the feeling.

“Wish I could fuck you,” Kurt murmured against his ear as he wrapped his hand around Elliott’s cock and slowly stroked him. “Open up that gorgeous virgin ass of yours and let you ride me. Bet you’d look so pretty taking my cock, El.”

Elliott whimpered, bucking up hard into Kurt’s hand. Kurt tightened his grip and quickened his pace.

“That’s it, baby. You’d feel so good, wouldn’t you? So hot and tight inside. And you’d love it, you’d beg me to fuck you harder, deeper.”

“Kurt…” Elliott groaned. “So close.”

Kurt kissed him hard and reached down with his other hand to rub a finger over Elliott’s hole. “Let go, honey,” Kurt encouraged him. “Come on, it’s okay. Come for me.”

Elliott keened, and it only took a few more strokes before he came, spurting all over both of them. While Elliott laid there trying to catch his breath, Kurt wrapped his come-covered hand around his own cock and stroked himself to completion, painting Elliott’s stomach and cock with pearly white strands.

Kurt rolled off of Elliott and flopped down next to him on the bed, smiling a little stupidly. “Thanks,” he murmured, leaning over to peck Elliott on the lips. He cleaned them both up a little with a tissue from his nightstand, and within minutes they were asleep.

When Kurt woke up in the morning, his head was pounding and the other side of his bed was empty. The events of the previous night quickly came rushing back to him, and Kurt groaned. He’d thrown himself at Elliott, his _platonic_   soulmate, who’d told Kurt right from the start that he didn’t want a sexual relationship with him, and now Elliott was gone. All Kurt could do was pray that he hadn’t pushed him away for good. He didn’t know if he could handle losing another person he loved. **  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm posting extra early today to make up for posting so late yesterday (and because I have an early call for the show today). I'm still overwhelmed by the response to this story. We're in the home stretch now, just a few more chapters to go. Just so everyone knows, there will not be an update on Thursday, since it's Thanksgiving and I'll be spending the day cooking with my mom.


	13. Chapter 13

**December 2013**

Kurt settled down next to Rachel on the couch at the Lima Bean, handing over her soy chai latte and taking a sip of his peppermint mocha. “So, how much Christmas shopping do you have left to do?” he asked.

“Not much, just a few little things for Dad and Papa, and I wanted to pick something up for your dad and Carole,” Rachel replied. “Do you have anything left to get, or did you take care of all your shopping in New York?”

“Just a couple things. I need to get something for Elliott at some point, but I’m not sure I’ll find anything he’d like at the Lima mall.”

“How are things going with you guys now?” she asked.

Kurt had called Rachel in a panic after that awful night in October, convinced that he’d ruined everything and Elliott would never speak to him again. She’d reassured him that everything would be fine, and he just needed to give Elliott a little time to process. Then Kurt needed to apologize, possibly in song, for the way he’d behaved.

He’d taken most of her advice, giving Elliott some space for the day before calling the next morning and asking if they could meet for coffee. Kurt’s apology had been spoken, not sung, but Elliott had accepted it anyway. They’d talked through everything they’d both been feeling that night, Elliott explaining that he’d woken up with a lot of confused emotions and was grateful that Kurt had given him a little time to deal with them on his own. They’d both agreed that they didn’t want their mutual bad decision making to ruin their friendship, and it hadn’t taken long for everything to go back to normal between them.

“Things are better.” Kurt smiled. “He’s been amazing, honestly, through everything that’s been going on. I don’t know what I would have done without him.”

Rachel reached over and grabbed his hand. “I’m glad you found him, Kurt.”

“Me too.” He squeezed her hand. “How are _you_ doing?”

She shrugged. “Some days are better than others. I don’t think I’ll ever stop missing him, you know? But I got some good news last week.”

Kurt raised his eyebrows.

“I got into NYADA.”

“What?!” He shrieked and pulled her into a tight hug. “Rachel, that’s amazing! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

She was grinning as she pulled back from their hug, grabbing his hand again. “I wanted to tell you in person.”

“I didn’t even know you’d auditioned. When did that happen?”

“Well, after Finn…after losing him, I realized that I didn’t want to stay in Ohio anymore. He was the reason I stayed, and now every day I’m here is another day that I’m constantly reminded of everything I’ve lost. I know he’d want more for me than that.”

“Of course he would.”

“So I applied at the end of October and auditioned in Columbus in November. I have to be there for orientation January 18th.”

Kurt couldn’t stop grinning. “I’m so happy for you, sweetie, and I know Finn would be too.”

“It feels good to have something to be happy about,” she admitted. “Is that okay? I keep feeling like it’s too soon to feel this happy about anything, but New York was my dream for so long, and to know that it’s finally happening…”

“He wouldn’t want you wallowing, Rachel, and moving forward doesn’t mean forgetting. We’re all trying to put our lives back together.”

Rachel nodded. “Plus, as much as I love my dads, their hovering is driving me crazy. I’m ready to be living on my own again.”

“Are you planning on living in the dorms?” Kurt asked.

“I’m not sure yet,” Rachel said with a shrug. “I looked at some apartments and checked a couple websites for people who might be looking for roommates, but I’m thinking living in the dorms might be easiest at this point.”

Kurt thought about how lonely his apartment had felt in the past few months. Elliott still stayed over once or twice a week, but it would be nice to have someone there with him full-time again. Plus, having a second person to help with the rent would mean he could stop borrowing money from his dad and Carole every month.

“Why don’t you move in with me?” he asked. “I have an extra bedroom, the commute to campus isn’t terrible, and you wouldn’t be stuck with some potentially creepy stranger as a roommate.”

“Kurt, are you sure?”

“You’d actually be doing me a favor. I’ve had to ask my parents to help me with the rent since Blaine left. Plus, I think this means I’m fulfilling my ancient duty to take care of my brother’s wife after his death. It’ll earn me some extra karma points,” he said with a wink.

Rachel laughed and threw her arms around him. “You’re the best! Thank you thank you thank you!”

Kurt returned the hug then pulled back to look her in the eye. “My only rule is that you have to let me help you pick out decorations for your room. I’ve created a very specific aesthetic appeal in my living space, and I won’t have your throwing it off with your Pepto pink and gold stars everywhere, Rachel Berry.”

Rachel stuck her hand out to shake his. “Agreed.” She pulled him off the couch and moved toward the exit. “Let’s go shopping!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a reminder that I won't be updating this Thursday. Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers, and Happy Thursday to the rest of you!


	14. Chapter 14

**April 2014**

“Okay, close your eyes and try not to flinch.” Elliott stepped between Kurt’s spread legs where he was sitting on the counter in the bathroom.

Kurt obediently shut his eyes. Elliott put a steadying hand on his cheek and drew a careful line across both of Kurt’s eyelids, smudging each one just a little bit before directing Kurt to open them again.

“Now look up,” Elliott said. He repeated the process on the underside of Kurt’s eyes, drawing the lines and smudging them a bit with his thumb, then stepped back to admire his work.

“How do I look?” Kurt asked.

“Super hot,” Elliott said with a smile. He pulled Kurt off the counter and turned him to face the mirror over the sink. Elliott wrapped his arms around Kurt’s waist and rested his chin on his shoulder. “We’re going to blow them away.”

Kurt grinned and turned to kiss Elliott’s cheek. “Let’s get going, then.”

Elliott squeezed him gently before letting him go and following him out into the living room. Rachel squealed and clapped when she saw them.

“You both look amazing!” Rachel cheered, turning so they could see her outfit. “Does this work, or do I look like a trollop who doesn’t know the first thing about how to rock and roll?”

Kurt laughed and pulled her into a hug. “You look great, Rach.”

A couple months earlier, the three of them had been lounging around the apartment, complaining of boredom, when Kurt had suddenly stood up and declared that they lived in one of the greatest cities in the world and needed to stop being so dull. He wanted to start a band, and Rachel and Elliott were going to be in it.

Now, after finding a drummer and a bassist and trying out material at twice-a-week rehearsals for several weeks, they were headed out to play their first gig. Their drummer, Dani, had a second cousin whose girlfriend managed a small bar in Williamsburg, and after hearing a recording from one of their rehearsals she’d agreed to give them a Thursday night trial run.

They were basically just a cover band at this point, trying out songs from artists that each of them enjoyed. They all shared the vocals, Elliott played lead guitar, and Kurt and Rachel traded off playing the keyboard every few songs. The songs they’d decided on for tonight were an eclectic mix, ranging from a Lady Gaga opener to a folksy Broadway ballad in the first set, with an old Madonna favorite as their final number.

They met Dani and their bassist, Alex, at the bar and used the back room to warm up and tune their instruments. The bar manager, Andie, had made sure the bar’s in-house drum kit and keyboard were already set up and ready to go on the stage, so at nine-thirty they walked out, introduced themselves as Pamela Lansbury, and started their first song.

After much debate, they’d chosen Gaga’s “You and I” to open with, and the audience’s immediate reaction assured them that it had been the right choice. The song was a few years old, but at least half the bar was happily [singing along](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-aLs8WuJf4) with Kurt as he started the first verse.

_It’s been along time since I came around_

_Been along time, but I’m back in town_

_This time I’m not leaving without you_

_You taste like whiskey when you kiss me, oh_

_I’d give anything again to be your baby doll_

_This time I’m not leaving without you_

Elliott shot Kurt a grin as he chimed in on the bridge, and by the time they reached the chorus and the whole band joined them, nearly everyone in the bar was singing at the tops of their lungs.

_There’s something, something about this place_

_Something about lonely nights and my lipstick on your face_

_Something, something about my cool Nebraska guy_

_Yeah, something about, baby, you and I_

It was exhilarating, performing for such an enthusiastic crowd. When they finished the song, the cheers and applause were deafening in the small space, and Kurt noticed Andie giving them a smile and a thumbs-up from her seat at the end of the bar.

They worked their way through their first set, and the crowd remained just as excited. When they slowed it down before the break, Elliott and Rachel’s voices blending beautifully through their arrangement of “Falling Slowly” from _Once_ , people nodded appreciatively, and a few couples wrapped their arms around each other and swayed together.

After a short break and a few more songs, they finished the night with “Into the Groove.” Toward the end Rachel abandoned the keyboard, and she and Kurt took their mics from their stands and walked out into the crowd. They danced their way through to the bar and, with a quick look at Andie to make sure it was alright, climbed up to stand on top of it as they finished out the song. The audience erupted into cheers again, and the members of Pamela Lansbury bowed and thanked them for being such a fantastic crowd.

Elliott had to go take care of his guitar before he could mingle, and Kurt made his way through the crowd to meet him in the back room. He passed Alex and Dani on the way and gave them each a quick kiss on the cheek. When he found Elliott, he smiled and pulled him into a hug.

“Thank you for doing this with me,” Kurt said against his shoulder.

“Anytime.” Elliott smiled and pulled back to look into Kurt’s eyes. “It’s nice to see you so happy.”

Kurt grinned. “It’s nice to _feel_ so happy.”

Elliott pulled Kurt in again to give him a quick peck on the forehead, then turned him toward the door and tapped him on the ass. “Let’s go meet our adoring public.” **  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I didn't get a chapter posted yesterday. My uncle passed away earlier this week, and I only had about half an hour between his memorial service and the time I had to leave for work yesterday. Everything should be on schedule the rest of the week. I can't believe we're so close to the end already!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't followed a song link in this fic yet, now is the time to start doing that. The song in this chapter is super important, and I don't know if this scene will have its full effect without hearing it.

**June 2014**

Kurt pulled the mic off its stand and settled onto a stool while Elliott switched from his electric to his acoustic guitar. The bar was packed, and the crowd that night had been great so far.

“We’re going to slow it down for a few songs, then take a little break,” Kurt explained. “This next song is by A Great Big World, and before anybody starts crying or runs away, don’t worry, it’s not ‘Say Something.’ I discovered this song last year, at a time when I was having difficulty finding the words to talk about the things that I was feeling, and it’s been something I’ve held onto ever since.”

Elliott started the [opening chords](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXe5Xj91J4Q), and Kurt closed his eyes and took a deep, centering breath.

_Oh, I built a world around you_

_Oh, you had me in a dream_

_I lived in every word you said_

_The stars had aligned_

_I thought that I’d found you_

_And I don’t wanna love somebody else_

_Oh, we left it all unspoken_

_Oh, we buried it alive_

_And now it’s screaming in my head_

_Oh, I shouldn’t go on hoping_

_Oh, that you will change your mind_

_And one day we could start again_

_Well I don’t care if loneliness kills me_

_I don’t wanna love somebody else_

Kurt looked out across the audience and noticed a familiar head of dark curls moving toward the exit. His breath hitched. _Blaine_. Blaine was there, and he’d heard Kurt singing this song that was so obviously about them, and he was leaving. Kurt completely missed his cue for the last verse, and Elliott had to nudge him with his guitar to remind him that he needed to finish the song. Kurt put every ounce of feeling he had into the last few lines, his eyes filled with tears and his voice wavering as he poured out every bit of pain he’d felt since Blaine left him, and he prayed that Blaine could still hear him.

_Oh, I thought that I could change you_

_Oh, I thought that we would be the greatest story that I’d tell_

_I know that it’s time to tell you it’s over_

_But I don’t wanna love somebody else_

As soon as the last note was finished, Kurt passed the mic to Rachel and ran off the stage and out the door. “Blaine!” he shouted as soon as he stepped outside, looking in every direction to figure out which way he’d gone. “Blaine!”

Kurt spotted him moving down the opposite side of the street and hurried after him. “Blaine, please! Wait!”

Blaine finally stopped. He turned around just as Kurt caught up to him. “I’m so sorry! I swear, I didn’t know you were in the band,” he blurted. “I was just there with some friends from school, and--”

“It’s okay, really.” Kurt reached out to grab his hand but stopped halfway. Those hands weren’t his to hold anymore. Blaine was so beautiful, and everything inside Kurt was screaming to take him in his arms and never let him go. He took a small step back. “It’s good to see you.”

“You too.” Blaine shuffled his feet and looked down at the sidewalk. “You sounded great up there.”

“Thanks.”

“Rachel looks good…happy, I mean. It was nice to see her smiling.”

“Some days are better than others,” Kurt told him.

“And you and Elliott…are you…?”

“Still just friends. Neither of us is looking for anything more than that right now.” Kurt bit his lip, trying to decide if he should ask the question that was hanging in the air. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer, but he didn’t want to be rude. “How’s Daniel?”

Blaine’s eyes widened, clearly surprised that Kurt had asked. “He’s good. He’s been working a lot of late nights, which is why he wasn’t with me tonight.” He paused and took a deep breath. “We’re getting married in September.”

“Congratulations,” Kurt said flatly. “Am I invited?”

“Ha!” Blaine let out a humorless laugh. “Would you come if you were?”

“Probably not.”

They stood there, quietly shuffling their feet and looking anywhere but at each other. Kurt hated it. He hated that they’d been reduced to this. He reached out a tentative hand and touched Blaine’s arm, and Blaine finally looked him in the eyes.

“Are you happy?”

Blaine shrugged. “I’m engaged to my soulmate,” he said. “What could I possibly have to be unhappy about?”

Kurt nodded and did his best to smile. “I should probably get back to the bar before Elliott and Rachel send out a search party. Are you coming back for the second set? I’m sure they’d both love to see you.”

“Daniel will be home soon, so I should probably get going. Tell them both I said ‘hi,’ though.” Blaine hesitated for a moment, then reached over and squeezed Kurt’s hand. “It really was good to see you.”

Without giving either of them time to overthink it, Kurt pulled him into a hug. “Take care of yourself, B.”

“Goodbye, Kurt.” Blaine sighed and pressed a feather-light kiss to Kurt’s cheek, then turned and walked away.

Wiping the tears from his face, Kurt turned around to head back into the bar. **  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have a title song! Thank you to all of you who have stuck with me through this story. We'll be at the end in just a few days!


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry that it has taken me so long to update. Life happened and some severe writer's block happened, but I'm back! This is the longest chapter of the fic so far, and I hope you all enjoy it!

**August 2014**

On the last Saturday before the start of his final year at NYADA, Kurt decided to stay at home and take a much needed night off rather than going out with his bandmates and friends from school. He had spent most of the summer working crazy hours as a singing waiter at the Spotlight Diner and rehearsing and playing gigs with the band. He’d just settled onto the couch with a book when there was a knock at the door. Assuming the Thai place he’d ordered his dinner from had been faster than usual, Kurt grabbed a twenty from his wallet and opened the door.

“Oh, thank God. I realized after I got here that it’s a Saturday and you could have been out for the night, or you could’ve moved without me knowing and I could be knocking on some crazy stranger’s door.”

Kurt blinked slowly, just to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. Of all the people who could have shown up at his door on a Saturday night, it was the last person he would have expected.

“Blaine? What are you doing here?” Kurt asked when he found his voice again.

Blaine bit his lip and shrugged. “I wanted to see you? I’m sorry, I guess I should have called first, but I deleted your number from my phone and I wasn’t really thinking clearly. I can go-”

“No!” Kurt stopped him. “Don’t go, please.”

They stood there for a moment, each unsure how to proceed, before Kurt took a step back and opened the door a little wider. Blaine took it for the invitation it was and stepped into the apartment he hadn’t set foot in for over a year.

“Can I get you a drink or anything?” Kurt asked as he shut the door. “I ordered dinner a little while ago. I’m sure there will be enough to share if you haven’t eaten yet. I, um…I ordered the dumplings you always used to like so much, and the spicy Thai basil with tofu. I think there’s beer in the fridge, or we could open a bottle of wine, if you—”

“I left Daniel,” Blaine blurted out, putting an abrupt stop to Kurt’s rambling.

“Oh.” How the hell was Kurt supposed to respond to that? “Um…when? Tonight?”

“No, last month,” Blaine explained. “Not long after I saw you at the bar, actually. I caught him fucking one of the secretaries from his office in our bed, and I broke off the engagement. I’ve been crashing on a friend’s couch.”

Kurt narrowed his eyes at him. “Uh huh…so what now? You thought you’d stop by to see if I was still here pining and waiting for you after more than a year has gone by?”

Blaine’s face fell. “Kurt, no, of course not. I just...I wanted to see you. I made a mistake, and I’ve known that for a long time.” He reached out for Kurt’s hand, but Kurt pulled away before he could touch him. “I never should have left.”

Kurt took a deep breath. His head was spinning, and he felt like he was losing his footing. “Can we sit down? It’s just…last time I saw you you were engaged and saying goodbye and walking away from me, and now you’re here and you’re single, and it…it’s a lot.”

“Yeah, of course.” Blaine gestured toward the living room and allowed Kurt to take the lead.

They settled on the couch side by side, and Kurt turned to look at Blaine. “So you caught him cheating on you?”

Blaine nodded. “With a woman he’d introduced me to at our engagement party. I wasn’t all that surprised, though. He was never overly affectionate toward me, but in the last few months he’d started to completely shut me out. I have no idea why he bothered to propose.”

“So why did you say ‘yes?’” Kurt wasn’t trying to be unkind, but he felt like he needed to know.

“Obligation? Pride? Relentless optimism?” Blaine sighed. “Maybe I was trying to prove to myself that leaving you the way I did was worth it.”

“And was it?”

Blaine paused to look Kurt in the eyes. “Only in the sense that I know now, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you’re the person I’m meant to spend the rest of my life with.”

“Blaine…”

“Kurt, I know I screwed up. I know I never should have left you, that you deserved so much better, and I know I have no right to ask you for anything now. But I’m here anyway. I need you to know that I never stopped loving you, not for a single second.”

“Then why did you leave me?” Kurt interrupted, tears streaming down his face.

Blaine reached out and gently cupped Kurt’s face in his hands, the gesture so familiar that Kurt couldn’t bring himself to pull away. Blaine brushed the tears from Kurt’s cheeks with his thumbs. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I was so convinced that I was doing the right thing, but I should have listened to you. I should have trusted what we had.”

“So why didn’t you?” Kurt murmured.

“I was scared, Kurt. From the moment you got your mark, it felt like there was this ticking clock hanging over our heads, like no matter how much I loved you it was going to have to end someday. Then you met Elliott, and I started to get my hopes up that maybe things were going to work out after all, that we were going to get to have the forever we’d always wanted. But Daniel, he brought all that doubt and fear back. He reminded me of my parents’ expectations and the world’s expectations and everything that had ever caused me to question our relationship, and I was convinced that, even though I loved you more than anything in this world, it wasn’t enough. So when Daniel offered me an easy out, a reason to break things off before we got in even deeper and got hurt even more, I took it. But I knew as soon as I saw him again that I’d made the biggest mistake of my life.”

Kurt didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t sure when exactly Blaine had started crying, but there were tears streaming down his cheeks. Echoing Blaine’s earlier movements, Kurt reached up to wipe them away, then wrapped both of his hands around one of Blaine’s. He closed his eyes, allowing them both a moment to process and recover.

A knock at the door startled them out of the silence.

“Sorry, that’s probably my dinner,” Kurt said as he stood and moved toward the door. He paid the delivery guy and took the food into the kitchen. Blaine followed, stopping in the doorway to watch Kurt as he unpacked the bag full of food and pulled plates out of the cupboard.

“Are you hungry?” Kurt asked. “There’s more than enough to share, and I would feel rude eating in front of you if you didn’t.”

“You got the dumplings?”

“Of course I got the dumplings,” Kurt said. “Grab two wine glasses and the bottle of Gewurtztraminer from the fridge. I’ll make you a plate.”

They settled down across from one another at the table, and for all the heaviness of their earlier conversation, the mood between them now was somehow light and amicable. They didn’t talk much. Blaine asked about Rachel and Elliott, and Kurt asked about Blaine’s family. They shared bits of gossip they’d each heard about friends from McKinley and Dalton. The quiet stretches in between were filled with small smiles and inquisitive glances as they each tried to puzzle out what was supposed to happen next.

When their plates were empty, they took them to the sink and topped off their glasses with what was left of the wine. They settled on the couch again, sitting face to face with their knees drawn up underneath them. Kurt couldn’t believe how _right_ it all felt, having Blaine here, eating dinner together, the easy flow of conversation.

Kurt sipped his wine and quietly watched Blaine for a moment, looking so comfortable and at ease in this place that had been _theirs_.

“You’re thinking very loudly,” Blaine said. “What’s up?”

“It’s just…It’s really nice having you here again.”

Blaine reached over and took Kurt’s free hand, twining their fingers together. “It’s nice being here again.”

They were quiet after that, but the silence wasn’t oppressive or awkward. It was comfortable, sitting together with their hands still clasped between them. Kurt gently played with Blaine’s fingers, reminding himself of how they felt between his, stirring up memories of every way those hands had ever touched him.

“Blaine, what is this? What do you…what are you looking for here?” Kurt asked, finally.

Blaine gave Kurt’s hand a gentle squeeze. “This is whatever we want it to be, Kurt. I meant everything I said earlier. I still love you, and, if you’ll have me, I still want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“Can you give me some time?” Kurt asked. “It’s just…this is a lot all at once, and I think I need a little time.”

“Of course. You can have as much time as you need.”

“I still want to see you, though,” Kurt assured him. “Maybe we can just take things slow? Hang out, go on dates, and get to know each other again? A lot has happened in the last year.”

A wide grin split across Blaine’s face. “I would love that, Kurt.”

“Great, perfect. Here,” Kurt said, pulling his phone out of his pocket and passing it to Blaine. “I deleted your number, too, so put it in there and I’ll text you so you’ll have mine.”

Blaine quickly added himself to Kurt’s contact list and handed the phone back. Kurt sent the text and heard a soft _ping_ from Blaine’s pocket.

“Now that that’s settled, I move to consider tonight our first date,” Kurt said.

“I second that motion,” Blaine replied.

“Motion passed, then.” Kurt smiled and reached for Blaine’s hand again. “I missed you.”

Blaine pulled their joined hands closer and brushed a kiss over Kurt’s knuckles. "I missed you, too."

A few hours later, after they’d finished off a second bottle of wine, Blaine stood near the door with his arms wrapped snuggly around Kurt’s waist and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. “Goodnight, Kurt.”

“See you soon, B.” Kurt tucked his face into Blaine’s neck and held on a moment longer, inhaling the still familiar scent of him before he pulled away. “I’ll call you,” he promised.

Blaine nodded and gave him a small, sweet smile before stepping out the door and allowing Kurt to close it behind him.

Alone again, Kurt took a long, deep breath, then dug his phone out of his pocket. He had to call twice before he got someone to answer.

“Kurt!” Elliott exclaimed in greeting. Kurt could hear the noisy bar in the background. “Did you decide to join us after all?”

“Oh, is that Kurt? Hi Kurt! Yes, come join us! We miss you!” Rachel chimed in.

Kurt shook his head and smiled. “How drunk is she, exactly?”

“Just a bit tipsy,” Elliott replied. “Really, though, are you coming out? The night is still young, there’s plenty of time to catch up to us.”

“No, thanks. You’ll never guess who just left my apartment, though.”

“You’re right, I’ll never guess, so why don’t you just tell me.”

“Blaine.”

“What?!” Elliott practically shouted. “Are you serious?”

“What?” Rachel echoed. “What’s going on?”

“Apparently Blaine just left the apartment,” Elliott told her.

“What?!” There was the sound of the phone being shuffled from one person to another. “What happened? Are you okay? Wait, hold on...Elliot, come to the bathroom with me so we can talk to Kurt.”

Kurt waited and listened to the sounds of the two of them making their way through the bar.

“Okay, we are locked in the men’s room and you are on speaker,” Rachel announced when they arrived. “So Blaine was there? Are you okay? Do we need to come home?”

“I’m fine, Rach,” Kurt assured her. “It was actually really good.”

“Am I correct in guessing that he is no longer engaged to Prince Sleazebag?” Elliott asked.

“You are. Blaine broke it off last month.”

“And he decided tonight was the perfect night to just drop by and catch up? Did he just assume you’d be there waiting for him?”

Kurt sighed. “El, honey, I appreciate you being offended and overprotective on my behalf, but it’s okay, really. We talked about everything, and he apologized. He stayed for dinner, and it was just…it felt so _right_ having him here again.”

“So are you two finally back together, then?” Rachel asked.

“I told him I needed some time. We’re going to keep seeing each other, date for a little while,” Kurt explained. “I’m not quite ready to just pick right up where we left off, but I’m not going to push him away either.”

Rachel let out a triumphant little squeal. “I’m so happy for you, Kurt! When are you going to see him again?”

“We didn’t really plan for anything specific. I just told him I’d call.”

“Kurt Hummel, you hang up and call him right now.” Rachel insisted. “If you wait you’re going to end up over-thinking everything, like you always do, and somehow you’ll talk yourself out of it.”

“She’s right, man,” Elliott interjected. “If this is what you want, why wait?”

Kurt knew they were both right. No matter how scared he was, he was ready to have Blaine back in his life. There was no sense in waiting. “Okay,” Kurt said. “Wish me luck?”

“You don’t need it,” Rachel said.

“Go get your man, Hummel,” Elliott added.

Kurt laughed. “I guess I’ll talk to you guys later, then.”

“Bye, Kurt! We love you!” They both made kissy noises into the phone, then abruptly hung up.

Kurt gave himself a slow count of ten to breathe and compose himself, then dialed Blaine’s number, grinning when it only took him one ring to pick up.

“Hi.” Blaine’s smile was obvious in the sound of his voice.

“Hi,” Kurt responded. “So…given the success of our first date, I’ve decided the second one needs to happen as soon as possible.”

“Oh? How soon were you thinking?”

“Does breakfast tomorrow morning work for you?” Kurt asked.

Blaine let out a small laugh. “That sounds perfect. Stella’s?”

Kurt’s smile widened at the memory of their favorite Sunday brunch spot. “Perfect. Eleven?”

“Does it still count as breakfast if we wait until eleven?”

“Brunch doesn’t start until then.”

“Then have coffee with me first,” Blaine insisted. “I don’t want to wait that long to see you, and I doubt I’ll get much sleep tonight, anyway.”

Kurt’s breath stuttered. “Oh...Okay, when?”

“Eight o’clock? At La Luna? If it’s not too hot we can take it to go and head over to the park.”

“Okay,” Kurt agreed.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“See you.” Blaine sighed, and it sounded like pure contentment. “Night, Kurt.”

“Goodnight, B.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay Klaine! As you may have noticed, I've added another chapter to this story. It was a scene I had in my early outlines and took out because I didn't think it fit. As I was writing this chapter and working on the epilogue, I realized that I needed to put that it back in. I'm still working on it, but I hope to have it ready before Glee airs on Friday. The epilogue is nearly finished, so if things go according to plan, this fic will be posted in full by the end of the weekend!


	17. Chapter 17

**November 2014**

Kurt slowly blinked his eyes open as Blaine pressed a soft kiss to his cheek.

“Happy birthday, love,” Blaine whispered.

Kurt smiled and turned to face Blaine. He managed to breathe a quick “thanks” before Blaine’s lips met his. Kurt pressed into him, still sleep-warm and loose limbed. He was so grateful to be waking up next to this man again. Blaine had officially moved back in a week earlier, and even though he’d spent several nights a week there in the months since their reunion, Kurt couldn’t help the feeling of peace that came from knowing Blaine would be beside him every morning for the rest of their lives.

Blaine rolled them over and stretched out on top of Kurt, trailing kisses down his neck and across his collarbone. Kurt arched into him, seeking contact and friction, his cock already half hard, and Blaine grinned against Kurt’s shoulder.

“What do you want, baby?” Blaine murmured.

They’d fucked for what had felt like hours the night before, taking turns taking each other apart, intimately reconnecting in a way they hadn’t since getting back together. Kurt still felt so open, both physically and emotionally, and he was desperate to be full again.

“Want you inside me,” Kurt breathed into Blaine’s ear, his hips rutting insistently against Blaine’s. “Want you to fill me up again, B.”

“Okay.” Blaine kissed Kurt’s temple, then found his lips again, reclaiming them with little sips and gentle presses. He nudged Kurt’s legs farther apart as he reached for the lube and condoms that were still sitting on the bedside table from the previous night. “Like this?” Blaine asked.

Kurt nodded, wrapping his legs around Blaine’s hips and pulling him closer. “Don’t need fingers,” Kurt assured him. “Just want you.”

Blaine leaned down to kiss him again then rolled the condom down over his cock and slicked himself up with lube. He held the base of his cock and gently nudged Kurt’s entrance. “Ready?” he asked.

“Ready.” Kurt relaxed and pressed back as Blaine pushed forward and breached him slowly. Kurt breathed deeply, feeling every inch as Blaine filled him with one steady thrust, stopping only when his hips were pressed snugly against Kurt’s ass.

“God, Blaine…love you so much, love you, love you…move please, dear god, move,” Kurt babbled, reaching up to pull Blaine down for a kiss. When Blaine started shallowly moving, Kurt whimpered, loving the feeling of being so full and close and connected.

Blaine met Kurt’s gaze and held it as he sped up his thrusts, pulling out a little farther now before rocking back in. “You feel amazing, baby. I’m so lucky, so lucky that you chose me, that you let me have this.”

“Blaine,” Kurt whined.

“That’s it, want you to feel so good, Kurt.” Blaine kissed his mouth again then trailed his lips down Kurt’s neck and chest, finally coming to rest right over his heart. “I love you so much.”

Kurt keened as slight the change in angle caused Blaine to nudge his prostate and then reeled Blaine in for a bruising kiss. “You make _me_ feel like the luckiest man alive,” Kurt murmured against Blaine’s lips.

Blaine smiled into the next kiss as he increased his speed again, fucking Kurt hard and fast now, driving them both quickly to the edge.

When Kurt started chanting “so close, so close,” Blaine reached down between them and encircled Kurt’s cock with his fist, stroking and pulling only a few times before Kurt cried out and spilled his release over Blaine’s hand.

Blaine groaned and followed him shortly after, Kurt’s ass still clamping around him as he rode out the aftershocks of his orgasm.

They collapsed in a tangled, sweaty heap, both breathing heavily as they came down. Blaine pulled out carefully and disposed of the condom and then wrapped himself around Kurt again.

“Happy birthday to me,” Kurt said with a giggle.

Blaine grinned and kissed his forehead. “Happy birthday, baby.”

They dozed off for a few hours, waking just after eleven and sharing a long shower. Kurt repaid Blaine with a slow, teasing blow job and a lazy fuck against the shower wall. After, Blaine explained that he had a surprise for Kurt later that afternoon and offered to take him out for a late birthday lunch.

They lingered over lunch at their favorite cafe, nestled side by side in a booth and feeding each other bites between kisses. Since it was unseasonably warm for November in New York, Blaine asked Kurt to take a walk with him after. They strolled around the neighborhood hand in hand for a while before Blaine stopped them in front of a shop window.

“So, remember the surprise I said I was planning?” Blaine asked.

Kurt nodded, and Blaine gestured to the building they were standing in front of. “This is it.”

Kurt looked at the sign over the door, then looked back at Blaine. “This is a tattoo shop.”

“Your powers of deduction are astonishing,” Blaine joked, earning him a sardonic eyebrow raise. “Yes, it’s a tattoo shop, Kurt.”

“You’re getting me a tattoo for my birthday? I know we’ve talked about me wanting one in the past, but I haven’t designed it yet or decided where I want it or—”

Blaine put a finger over Kurt’s lips to silence him. “Calm down, sweetheart. I’m not getting you a tattoo for your birthday. I’m getting one for myself.”

“Oh. Um…thank you?” Kurt said, still a little puzzled. “I mean, I’m sure whatever you’re getting will add to how incredibly sexy you are, but aside from that, how exactly is this _my_ birthday present?”

Blaine pulled a folded sheet of paper from his pocket and presented it to Kurt. When Kurt unfolded it, he found a simple black and gray image of a pair of birds, their beaks touching and tails tilted toward one another so their bodies formed the shape of a heart. Just below the outstretched wing of one bird were the scripted initials _KEH._

“It’s going on my right wrist,” Blaine explained. “The artist said it should completely cover my soulmark.”

At a loss for words, Kurt stepped closer and kissed him. “I love you so much,” he murmured as he pulled back, staying close and pressing their foreheads together.

Blaine intertwined their fingers and gently squeezed Kurt’s hands. “I just need you to know that I mean it when I say ‘forever’ this time. There’s no one else for me, Kurt. Only you, always.”

“I know, honey.” Kurt kissed him again. If the past few months had shown him anything, it was that Blaine was fully committed to him. It hadn’t been easy. They’d fought so much in those first few weeks of dating again that Kurt had seriously doubted that they would ever make it.

It was one particularly epic fight in early October that finally brought out all of their insecurities and the truth about what had kept them apart for so long. Neither could remember what had started it, but in the end Kurt had screamed and railed at Blaine about how he didn’t know how he could ever fully trust him again. Blaine had broken down, sobbing about how hard it had been to stay away, but he’d thought that Kurt had moved on and he was just trying to do the same. That had stopped Kurt’s tirade, and he’d tentatively held Blaine’s hands as Blaine had explained about Finn’s funeral and his assumption that Kurt and Elliott were together, about how much it had hurt to hear the news from Burt instead of Kurt, and how Blaine had decided to start making a real effort with Daniel once he returned to New York.

Kurt brushed his fingers through Blaine’s hair and rubbed the back of his neck. “Blaine, you don’t have to do this to prove anything to me. I completely understand if covering your mark is something you want to do, but please don’t feel like I need that in order to trust you.”

“I want to do this,” Blaine assured him. “Not just for you, for both of us. I can’t remove his name, just like I can’t take back the time that we were apart, but I can cover it up, make it something new and beautiful and ours.”

“Okay,” Kurt said. “But I want to get something too. I don’t want to cover Elliott’s name, but maybe something on my left wrist? Something like yours, but a little simpler.”

Blaine smiled. “I asked them to keep some time open for you too, just in case, and Mariana said she would be able to design something for you.”

They turned toward the shop’s door, and Blaine led Kurt inside. It was a clean, comfortable atmosphere with lots of natural light and soft music playing.

“Blaine!” the young woman behind the desk exclaimed as she jumped out of her seat and hurried over to envelop Blaine in a hug.

“Hey, Mari,” Blaine said with a smile, returning her embrace without letting go of Kurt’s hand.

Mariana stepped back and immediately turned to Kurt, giving him a quick once over and smiling. “You must be Kurt. Blaine has told me so much about you. I’m Mariana, I go to NYU with Blaine.” She stuck her hand out, and Kurt shook it.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Kurt said.

“Mari is an art major,” Blaine explained. “But she was in my voice class last fall.”

“Music minor,” Mari clarified.

“She’s ridiculously talented at _everything_ ,” Blaine teased, nudging her with his shoulder.

“Did you design Blaine’s tattoo?” Kurt asked. “It’s beautiful.”

Mariana smiled. “Guilty as charged. Blaine gave me a rough idea of what he wanted, and I ran with it.”

“Could you do something similar for me? My match is still a big part of our lives, so I don’t want to cover his name, but I’d really like to have something for Blaine too.” Kurt gently squeezed Blaine’s hand and offered him a small smile.

Mariana looped her arm through Kurt’s. “Step into my office, my friends.” She led them down the hall into a room with three chairs and a counter full of tattooing equipment.

A few hours later, Kurt and Blaine both walked out of the shop with bandages on their wrists covering the fresh ink. Kurt had decided to stick with the bird theme and ended up with a silhouette of two birds nestled side by side on a branch, with the initials _BDA_ next to them in the same script that was used for Kurt’s initials in Blaine’s tattoo.

They walked a couple blocks in easy silence, their linked hands swinging slightly between them. The city streets were still teeming with life as the sun started to set. Blaine informed Kurt they needed to make one more stop before they got home and tugged him into their favorite bakery to pick something up that he’d apparently pre-ordered.

When they arrived at home, Blaine told Kurt to go freshen up and meet him in the living room and then disappeared into the kitchen with the bakery box. Kurt headed to the bathroom, where he unwrapped the bandage from his wrist and carefully washed the newly inked area with mild soap and water, just as Mari had instructed. He pulled the small tube of aftercare ointment from his pocket and covered the tattoo in a thin layer before making his way out to the living room. Kurt smiled when he noticed that the lights had been dimmed and there were candles flickering on the coffee table.

A few minutes later, Blaine signaled his arrival but shutting off the overhead light, leaving only the warm, muted candlelight. He was carrying a tray of wine and treats, most notably a miniature dark chocolate raspberry swirl cheesecake with a single candle stuck in the middle.

“ _Happy birthday to you_ ," Blaine softly sang as he set the tray down and settled on the couch next to Kurt. He picked up the plate of cake and held it out, still singing, and as he held out the final “ _youuuu_ ,” Kurt blew out the candle and pulled Blaine in for a kiss.

“Thank you,” Kurt whispered, keeping Blaine close. “This is perfect. This whole day has just been so, so perfect.”

“You’re worth it,” Blaine replied, before leaning in for another kiss.

Blaine set the cake plate down and picked up the two wine glasses, offering one to Kurt.

“Here’s to a lifetime littered with perfect days,” Kurt said, lifting his glass toward Blaine.

Blaine smiled and touched his glass to Kurt’s. “And to every perfectly imperfect day in between.” **  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The epilogue is complete and will be posted tomorrow!


	18. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was inspired by iconicklaine, who was kind enough to allow me to ask her a ton of questions about her own illegal wedding many years ago.

**June 2015**

Planning an illegal wedding turned out to be easier than Kurt had expected it to be. There were a few venues in the city that boldly advertised their friendliness to unmatched couples, and Kurt and Blaine had booked one that overlooked Central Park for the reception. The ceremony was being held in the park, in a quiet area near a little stream that Kurt and Blaine had discovered shortly after they moved to New York. They were probably supposed to have a permit, but with their guest list of less than forty people and their plan to keep the ceremony relatively brief, they assumed they’d be fine without one.

They also didn’t bother hiring an officiant. Instead, Rachel, Elliott, Blaine’s best friend Sam, and his brother Cooper were each placed in charge of part of the ceremony. Kurt was a little leery of letting Sam and Cooper speak during the wedding, since they were both known to veer off into random, inappropriate tangents, but Blaine assured him that they’d both be on their best behavior.

On the day of the wedding, Kurt sat alone on a park bench in his tux, looking up at the sky and talking to his brother.

“I hate that you’re not here,” Kurt said with tears in his eyes. “Rachel’s going to be my Matron of Honor, because I refused to pick someone else to be my Best Man.

“I’m glad you got to meet Blaine, though, that you knew him and loved him. It’s been a rough couple of years. Maybe you’ve been up there watching us and saw some of it. If so, I guess you know better than anyone how important this day is.” Kurt sighed and wiped his eyes. “If you see my mom, will you tell her that Blaine is good and that he makes me unbelievably happy? I love him more now than I ever thought I could. I’m sorry I didn’t send an invitation, but I hope you’ll both be watching today. I saved you each a seat at the reception. I’d like to think that she would approve of him, and of our marriage, even though we’re unmatched.”

Kurt was startled when he felt a warm hand settle on his shoulder. “She would, bud,” his dad’s voice assured him. “All she ever wanted was for you to be happy.”

Kurt hadn’t noticed their approach, but his dad and Carole were both standing in front of him now. Burt held out a hand to help Kurt up from the bench and pulled him into a tight hug.

“You ready for this?” Burt asked.

Kurt nodded. “I’ve been ready for this since I was seventeen.”

His parents walked down the path with him, and soon Kurt could see the small crowd of guests. Their closest friends from NYADA and NYU were there, as well as nearly all of the New Directions and a few of the guys from Dalton. They hadn’t invited too many family members, but Kurt was happy to have Cooper and Blaine’s Aunt Missi there representing the Anderson side. There was no altar, no aisle to walk down. Kurt simply found Blaine in the midst of the crowd, and with their friends and families gathered around them, they began the ceremony.

Cooper, who was Blaine’s Best Man, was acting as their emcee. He cleared his throat and asked for everyone’s attention.

“As you all know, we’re here today to celebrate Kurt and Blaine. We have all had the privilege of watching the love between these two young men grow over the past several years. Today, they have decided to stand here before us and publicly declare their intention to deepen their commitment to one another, and to let their love sustain them through a lifetime together.”

Kurt looked into Blaine’s eyes and smiled. Who knew Cooper was capable of being so eloquent?

Cooper nodded toward Rachel and Elliott, directing them to come closer. “I would like to invite two close friends of the grooms, Rachel Berry and Elliott Gilbert, to share a reading of one of Kurt and Blaine’s favorite poems.”

“Kurt and Blaine, we just wanted to say that we love both so much, and we’re so happy to be here with you today,” Rachel said as Elliott pulled a folded piece of paper from his jacket pocket.

As Rachel and Elliott each read with the well-practiced tone that they’d learned over years of actor training, Kurt closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to Blaine’s, allowing e.e. cummings’ familiar words to wash over them.

_i carry your heart with me (i carry it in_   
_my heart) i am never without it (anywhere_   
_i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done_   
_by only me is your doing, my darling)_   
_i fear_   
_no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want_   
_no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)_   
_and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant_   
_and whatever a sun will always sing is you_

_here is the deepest secret nobody knows_   
_(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud_   
_and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows_   
_higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)_   
_and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart_

_i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)_

There was a brief pause, allowing Kurt and Blaine to soak in the words and the moment, then the guests politely applauded.

“Thank you, Rachel and Elliott,” Cooper continued as the applause faded. “The grooms have each written their own set of vows, which they would now like to share with you, and, more importantly, with each other. Blaine has elected to go first.”

Blaine squeezed both of Kurt’s hands and looked lovingly into his eyes. “Kurt, my love, my heart, my life. Ours has not been the easiest road,” he began. “But I will always be grateful to have walked it with you at my side. Today we take one more step in our journey together. From this day forward, I promise to honor the love that has brought us this far and to do everything in my power to nourish and strengthen that love in the days to come. I will challenge you to keep growing as an individual, and I will be there to catch you whenever you fall. I will mourn your losses and rejoice in your triumphs. Above all, I will honor you, my husband, by choosing to trust in the relationship and the love and the life that we are building together.”

Kurt let go of Blaine’s hand for a moment so they could both wipe the tears from their cheeks, and then it was his turn. “Blaine, I have loved you, in one form or another, since the day I met you. Over the years, that love has been a source of comfort and pain, of joy and heartache, but it has never faded. It has been through the fire, been reshaped and transformed, but never burned away. Today, I vow to always hold tightly to that love, but to allow it to keep growing and changing as we move through our lives together. I vow to support you, to sing and dance with you, to share in your laughter and your tears, and to never go to bed angry. I vow to be yours, and only yours, and to cherish the fact that you are mine.”

Kurt and Blaine each took a shaky breath and offered one another watery smiles as Sam stepped forward to guide them through the exchange of their rings. Each groom pulled a silver band from his pocket, and Sam turned toward Blaine.

“Do you, Blaine Anderson, take Kurt Hummel to be your husband, to cherish in friendship and love today, tomorrow, and for as long as the two of you live, to trust and honor him, to love him faithfully, forsaking all others, through the best and the worst, whatever may come, and if you should ever doubt, to remember your love for each other and the reason why you came together with him this day?”

Blaine lifted Kurt’s left hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it before sliding the ring onto his finger and murmuring, “I do.”

Sam turned to look at Kurt. “And do you, Kurt Hummel, take Blaine Anderson to be your husband, to cherish in friendship and love today, tomorrow, and for as long as the two of you live, to trust and honor him, to love him faithfully, forsaking all others, through the best and the worst, whatever may come, and if you should ever doubt, to remember your love for each other and the reason why you came together with him this day?”

Kurt nodded and said “I do,” then echoed Blaine’s actions, lifting Blaine’s  hand up for a kiss before sliding the ring onto his finger.

Cooper stepped out to address the grooms and their guests one more time. “Kurt and Blaine, in front of these witnesses, and by your vows, I now pronounce you husbands. You may kiss your groom.”

The guests applauded and cheered as Blaine cupped both hands around Kurt’s face and pulled him into a sweet, tender kiss. When Blaine tried to back away, Kurt quickly grabbed him by the hips and dragged him in again, kissing him deeper and just a little dirty this time, causing a few of the guests to whoop and holler at them. Both men were grinning when they separated.

“Hi, husband,” Kurt whispered, his forehead pressed to Blaine’s.

Blaine swooped in for one more kiss, then pulled back slightly to look into Kurt’s eyes. “Hi, husband.”

They linked hands and turned toward their guests. Elliott, Rachel, Cooper, and Sam immediately pounced on them, enveloping Kurt and Blaine in a group hug that was quickly joined by Burt, Carole, and several of the New Directions. When the love pile separated enough that they could breathe again, Kurt addressed their guests.

“Thank you all so much for being here today. We’re going to reconvene at the reception hall in about half an hour, where we’re going to have a hell of a party. Until then, if you all don’t mind, I’m going to to take a little time to be alone with my new husband.” Kurt guided Blaine away from the group to a soundtrack of teasing catcalls.

“Perverts,” Kurt grumbled. “We’re in a public park, for god’s sake.”

Blaine laughed and, before they were completely out of sight, pulled Kurt into his arms and dipped him back into a comically lewd kiss. They were both giggling uncontrollably when they separated, and their friends and families were cheering and laughing along with them.

“Let’s go, Casanova.” Kurt took Blaine’s hand again and led him further along the path until they found a bench in the shade.

They sat side by side, and Kurt rested his head on Blaine’s shoulder. They were quiet for a while, simply enjoying a moment of peace together.

“We’re married,” Blaine said eventually, his voice filled with awe.

“Yep, no getting rid of each other now,” Kurt teased. “You’re stuck with me forever.”

“Well, technically--”

Kurt silenced Blaine’s “technically” with a kiss, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and keeping him close when their lips separated. “No take backs, Mr. Anderson.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, Mr. Hummel,” Blaine assured him. “I’m so happy to be your husband, Kurt.”

“Me too, B.” Kurt said softly.

“But are you sure you don’t want to do what everyone is assuming we’re doing right now? This is a pretty secluded area of the park.”

Kurt shook his head at his ridiculous husband. “Later,” he promised.

“Awesome.” Blaine grinned. “I can’t wait to find out what married sex is like.”

“Well, we should get going, then.” Kurt said, standing and pulling Blaine up and into his arms. “Because the sooner we get to the reception, the sooner we can leave.” **  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've reached the end of the road, my friends. This is the longest piece of creative writing I have ever finished, and I am so thankful to all of you who have been a part of this journey. Huge thanks to the following people for the roles they played in getting this fic to its final chapter: krumcake for the post that inspired me to write this story; borogroves for being the reason that post showed up on my dash; gnomerino for making sure the final product was readable, correcting my excessive comma usage, and being a sounding board when I got stuck and needed to talk through an idea; batkonehat and abjessss for creating beautiful art and being incredibly patient with my inability to meet deadlines; lurkdusoleil for answering my questions about warnings; and iconicklaine for letting me pick her brain about weddings. Finally, thank you to all of you who have read, liked, reblogged, and left comments and kudos. Y'all are the best, and I don't know if I ever would have finished this story without your support. I am hoping to write more in this 'verse eventually and will be posting some extras on tumblr (a masterpost including the art, a playlist, etc.). If you don't follow me on tumblr, you can track the IDWLSE tag for any updates and extras. I hope you all enjoyed the journey, and I'd love to hear your thoughts if you have time to leave a comment!


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